Amazon gives Kindle battery life boost, native PDF support |
Follow the ups and downs of a new Seattle startup in a series of behind-the-scenes posts by its founders.
Amazon is juicing up its Kindle reader for the holidays. The electronic reader now has battery life of up to seven days even with wireless turned on — up from four days previously. And it's getting a native PDF reader so people can read documents their original PDF format without conversion.
Kindle's battery life with the wireless turned off is the same as before: up to 2 weeks.
It looks like the upgrade applies to the current entry-level Kindle (the Kindle 2). Amazon said people who've previously purchased the Kindles can get updates as well:
Amazon also announced today that previous purchasers of the new Kindle will also receive the 85 percent battery life improvements with wireless on, and native PDF support via a firmware update automatically delivered via Whispernet wireless. Native PDF support will also be available for some earlier versions of Kindle via an automatic Whispernet wireless firmware update.
Amazon has been seeking to capitalize on the supply issues of rivals Sony and Barnes & Noble.
After Barnes & Noble revealed that its new Nook reader is already sold out for the holidays, Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener crowed that "Kindle manufacturing is humming" and Kindle "is in stock and available for immediate shipment today."
Follow my updates on Twitter.
ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.
READ FULL BIOGRAPHYSeattle Repertory Theatre presents Glengarry Glen Ross Feb 5th to Feb 28th
One of the largest and most renowned regional theatres in the country, Seattle Repertory Theatre produces a mix of celebrated classics, recent Broadway hits and cutting-edge new works in two theatre spaces. Now playing David Mamet's American classic Glengarry Glen Ross through February 28. Join us for Sales Rep Industry night February 11 with the Puget Sound Business Journal. For details click here.
Join the Microsoft WebsiteSpark program and get software, support and visibility – at no upfront cost. You’ll benefit from fast and easy access to current Microsoft development tools, platform technology and server products including Visual Studio, Expression Studio, Silverlight, Windows Web Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Web.
Seattle-based Adhost is a WebsiteSpark hosting partner providing dedicated servers with free Windows Web Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 licensing for three years to Web developers enrolled in WebsiteSpark. Servers are located in our secure data center with SAS 70 Type II certification, 24x7 technical support and 24x7 client access.
WTIA 15th Annual Industry Achievement Awards
Held on March 4th at the Showbox SODO, this casual event celebrates and recognizes some of the best emerging and established companies in the Washington Tech Industry. The evening will feature a finalist company technology showcase and a variety of coffee, chocolate, and wine samples from local companies. More than 800 attendees are expected to be present at the celebration. Public online voting for Technology Leader of Tomorrow Scholarships will open February 3rd on the WTIA site.
We congratulate the 2010 finalists and look forward to unveiling the winners on March 4th. REGISTER NOW!