Full-Screen browsing comes to Amazon Kindle Fire after firmware update

A new firmware update has been bestowed on owners of the Amazon Kindle Fire. The low-priced 7 inch Android tablet that was found underneath more Christmas Trees than a passed out Uncle, now has version 6.2.2 working. And with the update, the only major improvement that can be seen is a new toggle switch that allows full-page browsing with the Silk browser. You can check out what the Silk browser looked like (before the update) by clicking on the video below

Now, the bad news for some. The update breaks root and the latest tool used for quick and easy rooting of the tablet, BurritoRoot, does not work once the update is installed. Amazon has yet to pass along the documentation for the new firmware, but hopefully they will soon. If you want to manually install the firmware, you can download a binary file from XDA user b63. All you need to do is download the file, place it in your Fire's kindleupdates folder, and go to Settings > Device > Update your Kindle. That's all there is to it. The binary file can be found by visiting the sourcelink.

Amazon may be developing a smartphone for 2012

An Amazon smartphone seems like a natural progression in the company's steady march deeper into the world of mobile technology. But, one analyst is going beyond thinking it's a possibility to predicting that it will happen next year.

Citigroup's research department is predicting that Amazon will put out a smartphone in Q4 of 2012. Citigroup's Mark Mahaney has put out a note saying that his hardware research team in Taipei, led by analyst Kevin Chang, is making the prediction based on what they have seen in the supply chain in Asia. Apparently, the supply chain checks make it seem as though Amazon is working with Foxconn to develop the phone for release late next year.

The team believes the phone will be powered by a TI OMAP 4 processor, and could cost as little as $150-170 to build, and Amazon could sell the device at a very low margin. It may not be the loss-leader that the Kindle Fire is, but Amazon could still undercut competition.

It seems like the natural progression for Amazon. Assuming the so-called "Kindle phone" would focus on selling Amazon content, as the Kindle Fire does, a phone is an easy leap for Amazon, because the market for smartphones is simply bigger than that for tablets. Even the market-leading iPad sells a fraction of what the iPhone sells.

Amazon Kindle Fire Review

Amazon finally dropped the news regarding its Kindle Fire tablet a few weeks ago, many were enamored to find out its price, yet somehow, it was all too expected. Nevertheless, the easy-to-swallow $200 Amazon Kindle Fire is here itching to ignite itself into stardom – thanks to its combined functionality of being an eReader first, with some light tablet-ing sprinkled on. There’s no arguing that it’s priced remarkably on so many levels.

The package contains:
Amazon Kindle Fire
Wall Charger
Quick Start Guide

The Kindle Fire is one solidly built tablet that enables it to stray from the perception of something being on the cheap side – thanks to its soft touch back cover and accompanying weight (413 g) that combined together give off that sensible feel in the hand. Even though it doesn’t attempt to be the thinnest or most compact 7” tablet out there, we’re still able to comfortably hold it with one hand. Interestingly, its overall design very much looks like the BlackBerry PlayBook, and honestly, if you remove their brandings, it’d be nearly impossible to tell the two apart. Overall, it’s no looker that’ll attract people from afar, but rather, we have to give kudos to Amazon for at least coming up with something that’s exceptionally solid feeling for its price.

Considering that the Amazon Kindle Fire is one clean and minimalistic looking tablet, there are barely any noticeable buttons or ports protruding from its side. However, taking a quick peek on the bottom edge, we do find a 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port, and dedicated power button. With the latter, it might be on the small size, but luckily, its response is springy enough when pressed. Meanwhile, on the top edge, the only items that are present are the left and right speakers. Finally, flipping it over to the rear, there’s nothing of particular interest except for the prominent Kindle branding embossed into the soft touch rear cover.