KINDLEFIRE SOFTWARE UPDATE VERSION 6.2.2 IS READY
Kindle Fire Software Update, V6.2.2 is now available online (after many of us downloaded it from XDA Developers yesterday and discussed it, and it's officially downloadable at the link, in case the update isn't already on your Kindle Fire (some got it "by air") and you decide you want it right away.
The announcement was made by Amazon on a Kindle Forum thread. Mine was still at v6.2.1 yesterday, and the 'Update your Kindle" button for "System Version" setting was grayed out. So I did update it prematurely instead of waiting (despite knowing that a later revision could be placed there before the official announcement). Waiting for delivery of the software update will be easier for most. I don't think they'll take their time on sending this to the devices as they started delivering the update over the air a day before they announced it on the fourms topday.
The forum announcement in whole (bold face emphases mine and formatting mine):
Initial post: Jan 18, 2011 3:26:22 PM PSTAmazon Kindle Customer Service:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)
We wanted to let you know that we've released a new, over-the-air software update for Kindle Fire. As with all of our free software updates, this will be delivered automatically to your Kindle Fire.
This update contains several performance improvements and additional features.
First, we've made improvements to the graphics system. You will notice smoother rendering when performing common operations like pinching and zooming, panning and scrolling.
Second, you will notice a new icon (four arrows pointing outward) in the lower right corner of the display. Tapping on this icon enables a full screen mode that maximizes the amount of the screen devoted to the web site. To exit full screen mode, you can tap on the up arrow at the bottom center of the display.
[ Andrys here: The bottom bar is nicely just a sliver.]
We think you will find this new feature especially helpful when browsing with the device in landscape orientation.
We've also made it easier to turn Flash on and off. The "Enable plug-ins" setting in the browser settings has been changed to "Enable Flash." The Flash default is "Off" but if you'd like Flash to be turned on, it's easy to do - simply go to Silk settings and select "Enable Flash."[Andrys here: I use "On Demand" setting so you can see the box for the video not being loaded and then press the down-arrow to start it running if you want. This means not having to go to Settings to turn it 'on' ... The 'Off' default was causing people to think yesterday that Flash is now not allowed anymore.]Finally, we've made a change to the way that the Kindle Fire communicates with the Silk acceleration servers when in cloud acceleration mode. To reduce overhead and speed up page loads, we've changed the way these communications are processed and will no longer use SSL by default.
If you want to enable SSL for the communication between the Kindle Fire and the Silk acceleration servers, you can select the "Optional Encryption" setting in the browser settings menu.
This change does not affect traffic to SSL (HTTPS) web sites; that traffic is routed directly to the those web sites and remains encrypted.[ Andrys here: SSL stands for "Secure Sockets Layer" and is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmitted on the Internet.For more information about the software update go to www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates.
It's an extra step which some will want but it also would take a bit longer, as it encodes data sent ver the Web and makes it unreadable to anyone intercepting the transmission. ]
As mentioned, here's the actual software update page for the Kindle Fire update v6.2.2 rather than have you choose from several possible ones on the page they cite.
Amazon's directions on the software update page:
' If you are not sure what software version you're running, tap the Quick Settings icon, tap "More," then tap "Device." If your System Version is "Current version: 6.2.2," you are running the latest software. If your System Version is "Current version: 6.0, 6.1, or 6.2.1" follow the instructions [at the 6.2.2 update page] to take advantage of all of the features available for Kindle Fire.
. . .
To update your Kindle, ensure
. you are connected to a Wi-Fi network and that
. your battery is fully charged.
Tap the Quick Settings icon in the upper right corner of your device,
then tap "Sync."
The software update will automatically download in the background and will be applied once download is complete and the device is asleep. '
The above describes a semi-automated update.
However, if you don't have a WiFi connection at the time and want to do this, you can do a MANUAL update at the software update page for Kindle Fire, where Amazon has step-by-step directions, for doing this with a USB cable to transfer the update to your Kindle Fire.
It was great that this time, Amazon did provide more specific notes on what is being updated.
If you have reactions to these changes or find any other ones, and have time, please let us know what you find. Thanks.
LONG, with UK
Kindle Touch 3G Kindle Touch WiFi Kindle Basic (UK: KBasic) Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G) K3 Special Offers K3-3G Special Offers DX
Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers. Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.
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Enough with news about upgrades for the Kindle Fire. When is my Kindle 3, aka the Kindle Keyboard, going to get the upgrade that lets it display KF8 documents rather than just pitiful Mobi?
ReplyDeleteThe tools to support KF8 are out and Amazon is still selling the Kindle 3. In my mind, that means Amazon is obliged to upgrade the K3 for KF8. If they don't, I'm going to do my best to steer friends to iPads. Amazon's iPad apps will always get upgraded.
Mike,
ReplyDelete:-)
Wasn't there also another announcement about supporting fixed layouts more easily? Whatever, I do wonder how long the Keyboard models will be sold. I notice on the forums that many still prefer keyboard models and their physical Prev/Next buttons, to dealing with touch devices.
iPad devices are still so expensive compared to a Kindle 3.
By the way, Mike,
ReplyDeleteI read indicators that KF8 would be used for whatever future Kindle books at some point but that they would carry the old mobi format also to keep compatability with the older devices. This is just something I read and I don't know how accurate that might be.
It's good to know Amazon is taking steps to improve the Kindle Fire. I may wait for Kindle Fire 2 to come out before investing in one though. :)
ReplyDeleteMZ, You should never buy anything unless you really want (or need) it, and the latter can't be true when it comes to tablets...
ReplyDeleteFor a number of us, it is addicting though, mainly because of the way it is meshed with Amazon's offerings, but some will need more in the way of hardware specs. OR, there are some who also need to learn a bit more about Android (which gives you more freedom to configure things the way you want but also takes a little more work then and can be confusing, and for those an iPad is better).