Kindle gets an upgrade

AMAZON HAS IMPROVED the hardware in its latest generation Kindle e-reader.

The gadget will now get 85 per cent more battery life and a native PDF reader capability. Currently the Kindle has a battery life of up to four days even with wireless turned on. The new version will manage seven days, Amazon claims.

Battery life with wireless turned off remains at the previous level of up to two weeks.

Amazon also announced today that the 6-inch Kindle now has a built-in native PDF reader that enables Kindle customers to read professional and personal documents in their original PDF format without conversion.

Amazon is jolly late with the PDF reader as other e-book readers have had this feature for ages.

All this will be delivered in 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. µ