I’ve had some time now to play with Amazon’s 2.5 firmware upgrade for Kindle. It’s easy to upgrade (automatically), brings you some additional (and much needed) features, and just makes an already great product better.
- Collections - this is something that was, in my opinion, long overdue. I have about 50-60 books on my Kindle and paging through the library is simplified significantly with this feature.
- Facebook & Twitter – post your highlights and notes to Twitter and/or Facebook directly from your Kindle.
- Popular Highlights – personally, I don’t like this feature. I think it brings up significant privacy issues. While Amazon insists that they don’t track personal data with this, it just serves as a reminder that Amazon has a window into your world when you use a Kindle. Also, I’m not sure I will make use of looking at other people’s highlights.
- PDF Pan and Zoom – excellent. I use PDFs on my Kindle and honestly, if you have a 6″ version, it’s been less than workable.
- Password Protection – I probably won’t use it, but definitely a plus if you live or work with snoopy people.
- More Font Sizes and Improved Clarity – I have to admit, I didn’t notice a difference with the “improved clarity.” The print on the Kindle was excellent before. Apparently, it’s even better now (although I can’t tell the difference).
It is easy to upgrade – in fact, most people need do nothing other than leave the wireless turned on, Kindle will upgrade itself automatically. If, however, you have made use of the popular “Screen Saver Hack,” you may find that your Kindle didn’t update. You then might be inclined to upgrade manually. You’ll need to uninstall the screen saver hack first! (Make sure you use the uninstall bin file included with the hack to do this.) Once you’ve uninstalled the screen saver hack, then you can update the firmware.
This firmware upgrade adds some great features, my favorite of which are the Collections and Twitter/Facebook post. This, coupled with the recent price drop to $189 makes it a good time to get a Kindle
if you don’t already have one. Oh, and if you’re one of those people that thinks you’d rather have an iPad, this price drop makes it much more reasonable to own both. Let me tell you, if you read a lot, you’ll appreciate the e-ink type screen more than a backlit tablet.
