Amazon had paper in mind when it redesigned the Kindle to bring out the new Oasis version. The e-reader is so very light that I barely feel it.

Launched on April 27, the Oasis is available in India on amazon.in, with 24-hour delivery promised.

I couldn't resist carrying it about in my handbag -- just because it fits so well and you never know when the urge to read strikes -- and I constantly found that whenever I reached in for my phone, the Kindle would come out instead.

It was with some amazement that I realised this was because the Oasis is lighter and thinner than my phone, any day -- and my phone is supposed to be pretty light. But oh, what a contrast from another other device I carried around for a few months, the original iPad Pro.

You have to really love the fine art of reading -- or be very rich -- to just put down INR 23,999 for an e-reader when the base model is available for INR 4,999. Or when every device you own can already take the Kindle app. Or when you have other great book-reading apps coming for your phone.

This is a luxury e-reader. The Rs 24k price includes a smart charging case, with magnetic contacts.

But if you want to treat yourself to this luxury, for that's what it is, you'll be buying a wonderful reading experience.

The Oasis is just 131 grams and very thin. So thin that this time the case comes with the device. It's also much smaller than all previous Kindles and this is because they've done away with the big fat edges, while leaving the screen at the same size as it was. It's much more square-ish now and people had some misgivings about that, but it's only easier to hold.

No longer totally flat and symmetrical, the Kindle Oasis is thicker on one side, shifting the centre of gravity towards the hand holding the device. To move from one hand to the other, just turn it upside down, let the text orient itself and continue reading.

On the thicker side, you'll also find two page turning buttons, which really beats swiping and flipping through pages and pages. The way you hold the device, the thumb turns out to be exactly where the page button is. So that works!

On the back of the Oasis are some tiny magnetic pins. These play host to the smart case which snaps into place gently. But this case isn't just a case -- it's a battery booster. When you charge the Oasis, you do so using a micro USB cable and charger as with any phone, and both the e-reader and the case charge up. It's prioritised so that the device charges first and then the case follows.

It can't get any thinner. The asymmetry actually means a firmer grip, and two buttons for turning the pages.

The wonderful thing then is that the case supplies additional battery juice to the Kindle. You can detach the case while you read and then snap it back on and let it make up the battery loss. this is supposed to make for 'months of battery life'.

The screen of the Oasis is like the Kindle Paperwhite, but with 60 percent more LEDs which have been repositioned to make for more brightness and more even lighting. As ever, it's comfortable to read on -- but that's the e-ink difference and the reason why it's better than reading on a smartphone or tablet screen.

Most other things on the device are the same, except for some reorganisation of the Home screen. There's no carousel any more, and some, like me, may miss that feature that one is used to. But everything is within reach.

If this were priced at the INR 12k level, I'd give it a 6-out-of-5 rating, rush out and buy one (mine is a review unit), and insist all friends rush out, too. At twice that price, and too many gadget purchases this year already, I'm sticking to my Paperwhite for now.

Lila Ray is a corporate consultant who likes her gadgets almost more than her shoes. You can write to her at [email protected]

TAGS: Amazon Kindle, Kindle Oasis