I really miss my old, old Kindle keyboard. It was the perfect form-factor for reading fiction, and the physical page turn buttons on both sides were literally perfect - holding the Kindle in either hand, the page forward button is in exactly the spot where my thumb wants it to be.
When the last of my old Kindles with the physical buttons died, I broke down and bought an Oasis, and... it's wildly better than a modern Paperwhite or a Kindle Fire, but it's pretty shittily designed from a usability perspective. The whole thing should be as thick as the offset thick edge, in order to hold it comfortably, and while it is nice to have physical turn buttons back, they're really awkwardly placed to use if you're trying to hold the thing in one hand and use your thumb, as one does with a Kindle.
I actually quite like the buttons on the Oasis. I've had regular kindles and then the Oasis, and far prefer it in every way. I've thought about buying a new one, but they don't seem to have really changed much, so I'm still on my original Oasis.
The buttons are well-placed for me. I hold it in one hand and my thumbs naturally rest right there.
My one complaint is that the touch-screen is still active and sometimes it changes pages when my thumb moves too far in, or when I close the cover. (No idea why the latter happens. Does the cover touch the screen and cause a page flip?)
There might be a better arrangement for the buttons, but I can't imagine what it is.
Oasis is my favorite kindle next to the original. I have had many. Oasis is a great travel size. It fits anywhere. I wish they would release an updated version of the smaller one.
I have an Oasis. I kept dropping it, so I compared it with my trusty Kindle Keyboard. The KK has a texture that sticks to your fingers. The Oasis is slick. I kept dropping the Oasis like I kept dropping my slick iPhone until I bought a sticky shell for it.
I agree with the button placement. KK got it right, Oasis got it wrong.
I've only ever had a paperwhite but I've never had an issue with just moving my thumb over the screen a bit and tapping to go the next page. If it was a 50/50 split it would be and issue but it's not.
Yep. I've had buttoned eReaders like the Sony PSR-505, original Kobo and used early Kindle models. Buttons just aren't needed with the decent touch screens they have now.
Kindle keyboard is kinda bad form factor itself. You have a keyboard that's rarely ever used for the main devices purpose taking up a third of the device adding extra bulk and weight.
When the last of my old Kindles with the physical buttons died, I broke down and bought an Oasis, and... it's wildly better than a modern Paperwhite or a Kindle Fire, but it's pretty shittily designed from a usability perspective. The whole thing should be as thick as the offset thick edge, in order to hold it comfortably, and while it is nice to have physical turn buttons back, they're really awkwardly placed to use if you're trying to hold the thing in one hand and use your thumb, as one does with a Kindle.