The Amazon Kindle app for iOS has been updated today with a handful of new features. Amazon’s eBook application has been getting regular updates to fix bugs and add new features, and today’s update is no different. More details after the break…
I love the Apple ecosystem. It’s not perfect, and the gap between it and the Google alternative isn’t as great as it used to be, but to my mind it’s still by far the best solution for anyone looking to have all their data and content available across both desktop and mobile devices.
But there’s one notable gap in my own use of the Apple system: books. Despite the fact that my iPad is my primary ebook reader, I still use the Kindle app and buy my books from Amazon rather than Apple …
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Two interesting app updates out today that make enjoying media from your iOS device even better.
On the reading front, Amazon has updated its Kindle for iOS app to include a font called Bookerly that it says was designed especially for reading on a digital screen. The font, which was first made available on its Kindle Fire devices, is described by Amazon as “warm and contemporary.”
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I’m a self-confessed smartwatch skeptic. Early attempts like the original Pebble just seemed to me an extremely ugly solution in search of a problem. Some of the later models, like the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R (as well as the rather familiar-looking latest Pebble), overcame the ‘ugly’ part, but I still couldn’t see a reason to want one. I haven’t worn a watch for more than a decade, and smartwatches weren’t showing me any reason to change that.
Then along came the Apple Watch. It’s far and away the best smartwatch I’ve seen to date, and for someone deeply embedded into the Apple ecosystem, it would also be the most logical smartwatch to go for if I were to go for one at all. Yet I’m still not seeing a compelling user case–and as Benjamin observed in his own recent opinion piece, Apple doesn’t appear to be doing much to help me.
However, I’m not ready to join the ranks of those dismissing it, and there’s one very good reason for that …
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Amazon pushed out an updated version of its Kindle for iOS app today bringing a list of new features to the reading app.
Kindle for iOS now includes integration with Goodreads, the social cataloging service it bought last year, allowing readers users to share book progress and completion status, quotes, and more Kindle to Goodreads. iPad Kindle app users now have access to Amazon’s Book Browser to view book descriptions and customer ratings; Kindle Unlimited customers (30-day free trial) can download books directly from the Book Browser. The new version also adds a feature called Audible Progressive Play, which allows audiobook listeners using the Amazon-owned Audible service to play content as it downloads.
The update also adds new ways for users to access information and details about Kindle books. Check the extensive change log of the latest version below for more information:
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I’ve already broken down the best gifts for students this holiday season, but now it’s time to talk about the best gifts for all the Apple lovers in your life. These are most of the products that I use on a daily basis. Whether I use them on-the-go, while working, or pretty much 24/7, these are some of the best products that have earned a coveted spot in my daily routine.
Technology has totally changed the lives of teenagers and students in this generation, both for the good and the bad. There are apps and products that dramatically make our lives easier and more efficient, but also things that kill our productivity. I’m generally more favorable to the latter of those two, but I’ll breakdown the best of both worlds and exactly what gift the teens and students in your life today might be interested in this holiday season.
The list of updated apps for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is still somewhat small since developers only learned of the new iPhone display resolutions earlier this month. The Kindle iPhone app from Amazon is joining that short list today, though, with a new version optimized for the iPhone 6.
That means that like iBooks, text you read in Kindle’s iPhone app won’t be fuzzy or scaled up. If you prefer the zoomed up version, however, iPhone 6 users do have that option to make every app larger using the Display Zoom feature found in the accessibilities section of the Settings app on iOS.
Kindle’s previous added a handy widget in Notification Center’s Today view for quickly accessing books you’re reading. Kindle for iOS is available for free on the App Store.
Facebook Messenger has also been updated for the new iPhone models. Notably, the chat app has beat the primary app for the social network in updating for the new iPhones.
Following a big day of Apple news, Kindle has unleashed a massive refresh of its Kindle lines, including three refreshed Kindles and—interestingly—one completely new Kindle model. The lineup includes the company’s new flagship e-reader dubbed Kindle Voyage, a new entry-level Kindle that now packs a touch screen, an updated Kindle Fire HDX, and a new Kindle Fire HD, which is starting at just $99.
Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Last Call updates:
Save up to $250 on current gen. MacBook Airs w/ .edu email, 13-inch from $750, more
Belkin charge & sync iPhone dock w/ built-in Lightning cable $19 Prime shipped (Reg. $35) (price bumped up slightly at 2:15pm)
Apple deals:
Other new deals:
GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition $330 shipped (Reg. $400) http://t.co/Kq4cFuU48h pic.twitter.com/WL51CAoNzi
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) July 22, 2014
More deals still alive:
New products/ongoing promotions:
Amazon’s unlimited ebook and audiobook subscription service finally goes live in the U.S., try it free http://t.co/M9q7crx7bl
— 9to5Google (@9to5Google) July 18, 2014
Amazon announced today that it’s integrating the Audible audiobook service it purchased back in 2008 directly into the Kindle apps for both iOS and Android. After installing a free update landing today for the apps, users will be able to listen to Audible audio books without ever having to leave the app.
“We continue to hear from a growing number of Whispersync for Voice converts who tell us the innovation has profoundly changed the way they read—in fact, switching back and forth between reading and listening has become their preferred way of experiencing stories,” said Audible founder and CEO Donald Katz. “And the feature has gotten easier and easier to use, as this exciting integration into Kindle apps attests.”
The service is an extension of the Whispersync for Voice feature that Amazon recently launched. That feature allowed users to switch “seamlessly” between reading and listening but required users to have both the Kindle and Audible apps. With the updated Kindle apps, users will be able to get narrations for 45,000 Kindle books and growing as well as purchase Audible upgrades for previously purchased Amazon Kindle books ranging from $1 to $4. The audio and text versions of the book will stay in-sync, pages turn automatically, and narration includes a x2 speed mode and sleep timer option. The best part is that you won’t be pulled out of Kindle and into the Audible app now when switching between text and audio.
The update includes other new features too, including: improvements to the X-Ray reference tool for textbooks and the ability to download an entire collection with a single tap. A full list of new features is below.
The updated Kindle app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.
Listen to Audible audiobooks! Customers owning both the Kindle and Audible versions of a title can now listen to the audiobook right in the Kindle app.
Now you can use the Kindle app to switch back and forth between reading a Kindle book comfortably at home and listening to the story while driving to work.
Additional Features Include:
•Access to more than 45,000 Kindle/Audible title pairs, including best sellers
• Find audiobooks compatible with items in your Kindle library – audiobooks are delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
• Whispersync for Voice automatically synchronizes reading progress between the Audible and Kindle versions of a book
• Read and listen to a Kindle book at the same time; pages turn automatically
• Narration speeds up to 2x and a sleep timer
• Download an entire collection – gives customers the ability to download an entire collection with the tap of a button, making it easier for readers to download in bulk and load their favorite books on a new iOS device
• Students can now find terms that are in X-Ray for Textbooks by using search – occurrences in X-Ray are shown right above occurrences in the book
• Finding where an X-Ray term occurs on a textbook page is now easier – tap a page thumbnail in the X-Ray feature and you will see the term highlighted in the page of the book
• Performance and stability improvements
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nFe_SWcq4Q]
Just as it did last month, Samsung again takes shots at the iPad in a new ad for its Galaxy Pro series tablets. The ad opens with a video call in which the boss calls for a revised presentation deck to be emailed, and the Samsung user is able to send it during the call …
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Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed,Facebook, Google+ and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Last Call updates:
Seiki 47-inch LED 1080P HDTV: $329 shipped
Free coupon for 30% off select Kindle accessories from OtterBox, Belkin, and more
Staples $30 off tablets priced $149 or more: Kindle Fire 16GB $119, iPad mini 16GB $269, more
Daily Deals: Up to 65% off Sony memory, LaCie 1TB portable HD $80, iPad Mini w/4G LTE Unlocked $390, 8GB Flash Drive $5, much more
How low can they go?!
Samsung 840 EVO Series 2.5″ Solid State Drive 750GB $360 (Reg. $600) http://t.co/6zN6PWXNGb
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 5, 2014
Other great deals from today:
More great deals still alive:
New products:
Apple boasted about maintaining its 10-hour iPad battery-life in the new iPad Air despite an overall thinner and faster design, but how does it compare to other tablets? Most reviews had good things to say about battery life (many even experiencing more than 10 hours), but it’s interesting to see how the device stacks up against the rest of the tablet market. While battery life largely depends on how you’re using your iPad, an extensive test from Which? shows that iPad Air comes out on top in just about any case and significantly beats out much of the competition.
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Starting off the new year with new features and improvements, Amazon updated its Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch today to version 4.1.
The update brings new features to users like the ability to create flash cards from text books for studying. This feature essentially creates bookmarks outside of the content for reviewing information on specific characters, places, or topics, and uses data from Wikipedia as part of Kindle’s X-Ray feature.
The update also includes a number of requested features and performance enhancements (full change log below).
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Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Game/App Deals: Up to 90% off 50+ EA iOS games: $1 each, 75% off Civ V + DLC for Mac, iOS freebies more
Amazon Kindle Wifi 6-inch eReader: $49 shipped ($20 off)
$100 iTunes gift card for $85: Save 15% on future apps, music, movies, more
Belkin WeMo iOS/Android enabled light switch $40 shipped (Reg. $50)
Giveaway: Dropcam Pro Wi-Fi video monitoring camera ($200 value)
Other great deals from today:
Save $200 on a current gen.13” MacBook Air if you’re near a Micro Center retail store. http://t.co/9hgkutssHP
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) December 17, 2013
The best deals that are still alive:
This month is National Bullying Prevention Month and creators of an anti-bullying Kindle e-book and an iOS app are hoping to raise $100,000 through their sales during October and donate the revenue to several anti-bullying charities. The charities include Bullying UK, Stomp out Bullying, the Pacer Center and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.
Amazon’s Kindle for iOS app got an update today to prepare for iOS 7’s upcoming release. According to the change log, the update is required before users update to iOS 7. Failure to install the new version of the app prior to updating to iOS 7 could cause users to have to login again and re-download their books.
While this issue isn’t as signficant as losing all of your Google Authenticator tokens, it could be a bit of an annoyance for users to have to re-download their reading material.
The Kindle update is available on the App Store now.
Line Spacing
Amazon updated its Kindle iOS app today with a number of notable improvements. Included in version 3.8 of the app is the ability to adjust line spacing to loose, normal or tight, and multipage highlights allowing you to “highlight long passages that span multiple pages for added convenience.”
Amazon also noted that it added accessibility improvements in today’s update including the ability to set a higher maximum font size.
• Line Spacing – loose, normal, and tight line spacing options change the page layout to suit your reading preference
• Multipage Highlights – highlight long passages that span multiple pages for added convenience
• Accessibility Improvements – select a higher maximum font size, bug fixes
• Bug Fixes/Stability Improvements
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announcing new Kindle
According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is working to expand its hardware offerings, this year, beyond the Kindle e-readers and tablets (like the Kindle Fire). According to the new report, Amazon is working on two smartphones, including a high-end model with a 3D display. Like other smartphones currently on the market, this display could be interacted with via a user’s eyes:
Amazon announced today that it is updating its Kindle mobile apps, starting with an update to the Kindle iOS app,to include new accessibility features for the blind and visually impaired. The updated app now includes VoiceOver support and new accessibility features, the addition of the Hiragino Mincho ProN (Serif) font selection for Japan, and an enhancement to the app’s ‘Before you go’ feature that now offers “the ability to download a free sample and email yourself a reminder about recommended books.”
A full list of new accessibility features available in today’s update below:
Google announced today that it updated the mobile web app for Gmail and the Gmail Offline Chrome app with a refreshed UI and new features similar to recent enhancements to its iOS apps. On top of the redesigned visuals, Google also included improvements to search and Google Calendar integration:
Today we’re rolling out a similar refreshed look to the Gmail mobile web app as well as Gmail Offline (http://goo.gl/0f1ae) that includes many of these same changes. Try it out at gmail.com in the browser of your Android, iOS, Blackberry or Kindle Fire device.
Google noted it decided to implement a design for its web apps similar to its iOS offerings after receiving positive feedback since first launching the new iOS design in December.
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Gmail version 2.0: Google has just released a major update to its Gmail iOS app, introducing multiple account support, a new look that appears to be partly inspired by its Sparrow acquisition, search predictions and much more. The update also brings interactive Google+ posts support, an infinite scroll inbox, new welcome screen, and the ability to respond to Google Calendar invites. Google walked through some of the new features of the overhauled Gmail app in a blog post noting the app was six months in the works:
Six months ago, our team set out to completely rebuild the Gmail app for iPhone and iPad to give you you a faster, sleeker, and easier experience on iOS. The result? Version 2.0. With version 2.0 of the app, you’ll get a totally new look and feel, plus a bunch of improvements like profile pictures in messages, numerous new animations from swivels to transitions and infinite scrolling in the message lists.
[tweet https://twitter.com/gmail/status/276023586265919489]
Kindle version 3.5: Amazon previously rolled out its X-Ray feature, which used to be exclusive to Kindle devices, to iOS devices back in October. At the time, it was only making the feature available for textbooks on iOS. Today, Amazon has updated the Kindle iOS app to extend the X-Ray to all books. The update also includes “Manga Image Rendering Improvements”:
• X-Ray for Books – see the “bones of the book”. X-ray helps you learn more about notable characters, places, and phrases with descriptions from Shelfari.com and Wikipedia.
• Manga Image Rendering Improvements
Uber version 2.1.0: iPhone 5 support and localizations:
-Uber app now supports iPhone 5. Also in this release are Dutch localization, and an enhanced look for top riders.
Netbot for App.net (iPhone): Tapbots updated its Netbot client for App.net today with some new features and improvements. The iPad edition is available here.
– Added support for Stream Marker
– Added Unified Stream option
– Added support for img.ly as an image service
– Performance improvements for older devices
– Better support for image annotations
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeGUE__O3w4&feature=plcp]
Bad Piggies version 1.1.0: Rovio has updated its new Bad Piggies title with 15 new levels today, as well as a new free sandbox level. The update also includes its biggest sandbox level yet, called “Field of Dreams”, as an in-app purchase.
The Bad piggies finally did it — they finally got the eggs! But can they hold on to them with the Angry Birds in hot pursuit? Even under the cover of darkness, they’ll need all of their best machines to stay ahead!
-Fly through 15 tricky new levels with the birds on your tail!
-Take cover in a brand new moonlit theme!
-Unleash your creativity on a free new sandbox level!
-Introducing the Field of Dreams: Our biggest sandbox level yet, now available for purchase!
National Geographic Magazine version 2.1: With this update the free app is now available to National Geographic subscribers on the iPhone:
• Now available for iPhone!
Kindle version 3.4: A nice update to the Kindle iOS app comes following Apple releasing new features for iBooks. The app now supports Japanese with vertical text & Manga, an option to read books in the publisher suggested font, and a new “Caecilia” font choice. Also included is X-Ray for Textbooks:
X-Ray for Textbooks gives you instant access to all the most important terms and concepts in a book, with glossary definitions, links to relevant textbook pages, and related content from Wikipedia and YouTube (available on many of the most popular print replica textbooks)
Cut the Rope version 2.0: Popular Chillingo title Cut the Rope is getting updated today with new levels, iPhone 5 and Game Center support, and more. The HD iPad version gets the same update.
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