Kindle Fire Gets A Free Software Update To Fix Complaints

Amazon's Kindle Fire has come under fire for the many shortcomings reported since it's release. Many flaws in both the hardware and software have users firing off complaints. As a result, the Kindle Fire gets a free software upgrade to fix those complaints.

But, could it be many users were expecting a device that could go toe to toe with the Apple I-Pad? While the $199 Kindle Fire is a tablet type device, it is not in the same league as even a low end $499 Apple I-Pad. Think of the Kindle Fire as a Honda Accord and the I-Pad as a Lexus ES. Both are good, but one is much better.

Some of the hardware complaints about the Kindle Fire are the power button's location which makes it too easy to hit by accident, there is no physical volume control, and the touchscreen isn't sensitive enough, making the touch controls hard to register.

Also, the 7 inch touch screen is a challenge for those with large fingers. Additionally, the USB port and headphone jack are too close together, making it difficult if you need to use both at the same time.

The software issues reported by users include No 3G, Wi-Fi only. Wi-Fi connectivity being too slow, resulting in slow loading pages. No parental controls. The Kindle Fire comes with login information pre-loaded. As a result the user's child could order products from Amazon without needing to enter a password. The same holds true if the device is lost or stolen, a stranger could order hundreds of dollars in merchandise that will be charged to the owner's account.

Other problems include the lack of a "working" symbol that shows the device is processing the command entered. Therefore, you wont know if the last entered task was even registered.

Amazon has been promising since mid December to release a free software update to fix some of the problems users have had. Version 6.2.1 was released on December 20th 2011. Amazon doesn't say exactly what issues this upgrade addresses. Only "This software upgrade provides improvements to the operation of your Kindle Fire."

Hopefully,it will improve performance, touch navigation, and give
customers the option to choose what items display on the carousel. The carousel is a grouping of windows that appear on the home display of the Kindle Fire and shows what applications the user ran most recently. Some users feel that exposing what they last did with the device is a privacy problem.

The 6.2.1 upgrade will download automatically if the Wi-Fi is on. Amazon has a page for manual download instructions here

Still, many who have purchased the Kindle Fire are very happy with it. It may all come down to how "tech savvy" the user is and their overall expectations.

Do not compare the Kindle Fire to the Apple I-Pad, or think you will get a mini version of one. Think of the Kindle Fire as a deluxe e-Reader with video and music storage, games, and web surfing capabilities.

It's rumored Amazon is planning to release an improved model soon, and you can expect them to release a model to directly compete with Apple's I-Pad. Probably sometime in 2012.

The upgrades may solve many of the current issues, but I suggest holding off on the Kindle fire until spring. Hopefully, many of the bugs will be worked out by then.

Lee Edwards,
The eComInfoSource