Kindle DX, kindle 2, reviews

Sneak peek of the upcoming Kindle 2.5 upgrade

05.07.10 | No Comments

By the end of this month, all owners of Kindle 2 and Kindle DX should be rocking the new 2.5 system upgrade, which Amazon will push out automatically over the wireless connection. (If you miss it or keep your wireless feature turned off, you’ll be able to download it here once it’s available.)

There’s been a lot of chatter throughout the blogosphere about the new features–collections (aka folders!), PDF pan and zoom, password protection, and integration with Facebook and Twitter to name several–but not a lot of actual details.

But Jacqui Cheng at ars technica has scored the upgrade early, and posted a detailed review of the new features along with screen shots.

Some highlights:

  • Collections (folders) can be created or deleted as frequently as you want, without harming your ebooks; if you delete a collection, the files that were inside it will just return to your home screen.
  • Facebook and Twitter integration provides a relatively easy way to share things you’re reading with people in your social networks. You’ll have to link your accounts from a new screen on the Kindle, and after that, whenever you highlight some text in a book you’ll have the option to add a note and post it to Facebook or Twitter.

    On the Twitter/Facebook side of things, what will appear will be the note you optionally added, and a link back to the Amazon highlights page, where visitors will see the cover of the book and the selection you highlighted.

    I’m most curious about this feature, because it might provide a new and easy way to share articles with friends.

  • Password protection! Finally, you’ll be able to lock your Kindle from prying eyes with a password, so if it’s lost or stolen you won’t have to worry about anyone getting in and seeing your stuff.

Check out the full review at ars technica.

(Photo: jblyberg)

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