OK, that headline applies to pretty much every software update Amazon has ever released for a Kindle Fire device. But this time it’s true for three different tablets.

Amazon has pushed software updates to the Kindle Fire 2, Kindle Fire HD 7, and Kindle Fire HD 8.9. All three updates bring new features to folks who own those tablets. But if you have a rooted Kindle Fire, this update will remove your root access.

Amazon Kindle Fire family

So if you want to keep root and haven’t yet received an automatic, over-the-air update, you might want to try to disable automatic updates.

The good news is that while the software update will remove any apps installed to the system partition on your Kindle Fire, at least one user who installed the Google Play Store on a Kindle Fire HD 7 says the Play Store still works after receiving the update.

So what’s new in the latest software?

That depends on which tablet you have. But the Kindle Fire 2, Fire HD 7, and Fire HD 8.9 all get the following updates in software versions 10.3.0, 7.3.0, and 8.3.0, respectively:

  • Time To Read estimate of how much time it will take you to finish a chapter or book based on your reading speed
  • Support for Kindle Editions with Audio/Video
  • Print Replica Textbook improvements including the ability to use thumbnails at the bottom of hte page to preivew pages and jump between chapters

The Kindle Fire 2 and Kindle Fire HD 7 release notes also mention support for Simplified Chinese and for X-Ray in textbooks, which gives you quick access to definitions, terms, concepts, and other data for a book.

The release notes for the 8.9 inch Kindle Fire HD also mentions support for changing your default language with support for 8 languages (although English is listed twice thanks to US and British variants).

via Android Police and Kindle Forum

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3 replies on “Amazon’s software update for Kindle Fire tablets, adds features, breaks root”

  1. I am still waiting for Amazon to release an Instant Video app for Android devices.

    1. Would be nice, though… If you can get Flash working properly then you can use a web browser with the service… My dad uses his Blackberry Playbook to watch Amazon Instant Videos for example, since it still supports Flash and does so well enough for full quality streaming… Though Hulu and other services can block any mobile device because they want you to pay for the service and thus they require a App…

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