KINDLE OASIS $290
New design for new model out this week

Amazon.com, in a bid to rekindle waning passion for e-readers, has thrown its design book out the window. The Kindle Oasis, which is in presales right now and starts shipping on Wednesday, is the eighth generation of the e-reader first launched in 2007. It looks very different from previous models.

Comments on Amazon question the cost, but the company says the changes are worth it.

About 30 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than its predecessors, the Oasis is squarish and asymmetrical. The screen is pushed to one side by a big bezel that lies atop a relatively bulky grip that can be comfortably held by one hand. The grip side is about a third of an inch thick, while the device's thinnest side is about an eighth of an inch. Want to grab it with the other hand? No problem: Just flip it around, and the screen follows suit.

It also comes with a leather cover that opens like a book and acts like a charging case that can provide months of battery life, according to Amazon. The case — available in brown, black or burgundy — snaps magnetically to the device.

The release comes at a time when many readers have been abandoning e-readers for smartphones or tablets (the Kindle App can be freely downloaded on those platforms, and one can read Kindle books on a PC, too).

SEATTLE TIMES

ZVOX SOUND BARS $499, $599
For strong bass and voice reproduction

The new ZVOX Sound Bars were designed to provide strong bass without an external subwoofer. An extremely rigid aluminum enclosure is used, along with premium-quality drivers a step up from those used in prior ZVOX products. They can be wall-mounted or placed on a shelf or table.

"Wow" is the only word for the vocal reproduction.

The sound bars set up as easily as other ZVOX products and have Bluetooth for use with portable devices.

Some of the previous SoundBase models may create a somewhat more immersive surround experience, due to more aggressive signal processing. That isn't necessarily a negative since the aggressive processing can also change the character of the sound, but the very natural sound of the new sound bars is preferable.

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