Amazon’s Kindle for iOS update geared towards students

Amazon is looking to help students study better with the latest Kindle 4.1 update for iOS. A new Flashcards feature is available for print replica textbooks that allows students to convert important terms taken from X-Ray for Textbooks feature or notes and placed into a flashcard set. X-Ray has also been updated to allow for sorting by alphabet, order of appearance or relevance.

Amazon also updated in-book search; added notebook filters by bookmarks, highlights, notes, and even specific-colored highlights; and revamped the interface of the Dictionary feature to suit the look of iOS 7 and make it easier for users to switch between purchased dictionaries and alternate languages. The other changes can be seen on the changelog over at the Apple App Store. 

Amazon reportedly prepping smartphones for 2014

Amazon is reportedly preparing to enter the smartphone market. According to Digitimes’ Ocean Chen, Taiwanese supplier Primax Electronics received orders from Amazon for compact camera modules intended for smartphones that will be introduced in the first half of next year. The phones are rumored to feature floating touch technology and will be integrated with six CCMs for sensing capabilities. We will keep you posted on any updates about the long-rumoured Kindle phone.

Amazon CEO demos delivery drones, promises delivery within half an hour

In a recent interview for a 60 Minutes segment, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos showed off the Amazon Prime Air drone, which is said to deliver packages weighing up to five pounds to locations in a 10-mile radius of Amazon fulfillment centers within 30 minutes. Now, we just have to wait for the company to figure out regulations and how to prevent the packages from falling onto your head before this hopefully lands on our shores and change package delivery industry as we speak.

The service is expected to be in testing for a number of years before it will be deployed and only in arease that are close to an Amazon depot. The stroke of marketing genius here has to be credited to Bezos, who timed this 'announcement' right smack in the middle of the Black Friday sales spike, traditionally Amazon's busiest and most profitablet time.

Source: The Verge

Amazon plans to improve screen and font for Kindle Paperwhite

TechCrunch reported that Amazon intends to update its Paperwhite e-book reader for the spring 2014 release. The tech company plans to improve the screen resolution from 212 ppi to 300 ppi. The weight of the device will supposedly be cut down as well. Amazon also reportedly wants to improve the typography with a customized font, provide “squeezable” buttons for haptic feedback, and add ambient light sensors to improve auto brightness adjustment.