Amazon will roll out continuous scrolling and a new mobile-friendly format for magazines in the coming weeks.

Amazon Kindle for Android received an update today. However, the update prepares the app for upcoming new features. Amazon announced the updates will be rolling out in the coming weeks, with no precise dates.

The first item listed is the ability to activate continuous scrolling in the app in the Aa menu. The latter is found at the top of the app and lets readers change font size, color and more. I'm not a fan of continuous scrolling. I prefer to manually turn the pages. Call me old school if you want but that's how I like it and no doubt a lot of readers out there will enjoy continuous scrolling.

For the readers with magazine subscriptions, Amazon is introducing a mobile-friendly format for the following magazines initially: Food Network, Cosmopolitan, Time, Popular Mechanics, and 200 others. That's a lot for initial titles. No doubt, subscribers will appreciate.

I will update this post when Amazon starts rolling out these new features in the coming weeks. In the meantime, download the update in Google Play Store.

Amazon Kindle for Android lets users filter libraries to just show samples.

Amazon Kindle brings over a million books to your Android devices for your reading pleasure. One of my favorite features that the online bookstore offers is the ability to download and read free samples before actually buying the book. A unique feature when it comes to online shopping.

Today the app was updated with a nice and simple feature. Users can now filter their libraries to just see downloaded samples. Like I said, a minor but helpful update.

The update is live for download in Google Play Store.

Amazon Kindle for Android gets support for split screen and notification center.

Split screen is one of my favorite feature on Android and today I'm more than glad to see Amazon kindle join the bandwagon of apps supporting this feature. With this update, users will be able to multi-task while reading.

This update will also allow Amazon Kindle to show new releases, deal alerts, and more in the notification center. No need to open the app to discover what's new anymore. The update is already available globally to download in Google Play Store.

Amazon Shopping now supports augmented reality to visualize products before purchase on supported Android devices.

Back in February, Google launched ARCore 1.0, a platform for building augmented reality apps on Android. To use the AR functionality, you'll need one of these phones, the Pixel lines of devices, Asus Zenfone AR, OnePlus's Oneplus 5, Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, Note 8, S7 and S7 Edge, and LG V30. Hopefully, Google will make ARCore available to more devices. Now that ARCore is in the wild, we need apps to take advantage of it and, today, Amazon has published an update that adds support for AR to Amazon Shopping for Android.

After installing the update, users of Amazon Shopping will be able to use the in-app camera "to visualize the products" in their living space before adding the product to their shopping cart. All they have to do is to tap the camera icon and select AR view. This feature brings a new shopping experience to Amazon shoppers. See the video below to see how AR View works in Amazon Shopping.

If you own one of the devices listed above, download the update in the Play Store. Now if like me, your phone is not supported, the update will still show up on your device. But again, hopefully, we won't have to wait too long to take enjoy AR capability on our beloved devices.

Amazon Shopping for Android makes it easier to find products that ship internationally and introduces Amazon Spark in the U.S.

My credit card took quite a beating during the holidays season and now that Amazon has updated its Android app with ‘International Shopping’, it’s going to be hard for me to keep that credit card in my wallet. In fact, ‘International Shopping’ is nothing new. Amazon just made it easier for me and users internationally quickly find products that ship to their countries. Upon installing the update, the app will let you switch to the ‘International Shopping’ right from the app main screen. If you do not, it will eventually go away. But you can go into the Amazon Shopping app settings and set it there. After doing so, Amazon Shopping will list only the products that Amazon can shop internationally, to your country specifically.

Amazon also added a new feature called Amazon Spark for the U.S. market. The company says Spark will let users “discover and shop stories, ideas, and more from people who share your interests.” This feature can be found in Menu, the three stacked horizontal bars at the top left, programs and features.

That’s all in this update which you can download in Google Play Store.

Amazon Kindle update for Android lets you long tap to hide items from your Home view again & saves your books searches.

Amazon Kindle for Android does not get updated often. Sure, there are the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements, but we rarely get an update that actually introduces new features like the one Amazon published today. And I was surprised to read that Amazon actually listens to user feedbacks.

By popular request, Amazon has indeed reinstated a feature that allows users to remove items from the Home screen with a long tap. In the change log, Amazon says the long tap will “hide it from your Home.”

The second feature in this update is about searches you do in your book. Amazon Kindle will now save those so you can quickly look them up again. This comes in handy should you need to remind yourself the definition of a word for example.

Amazon Kindle also gets new dictionaries for five new languages: Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam.

Whether you’re an avid reader or not, check this update in Google Play Store. Amazon Kindle and the update are free to download.

Private browser Firefox Focus updated with swipe-to-refresh and Google as default search engine.

Recently, Firefox introduced a new browser for Android called Firefox Focus which, by default blocks ad trackers and lets you easily erase your history, passwords and cookies. The browser also features a minimalistic design with few configurations options - it does not even support tabs. I use it mostly when doing quick searches or to check some news. Another point that may not make Firefox Focus popular with users is having Yahoo as its default search engine. That is until today.

Version 2.4 of Firefox Focus changes the default search engine for the US, UK and Taiwan to Google. The app still list other engines should you want to change. Currently on the list are: Amazon.com, DuckDuckGo, Twitter and Wikipedia.

In addition to the above, Mozilla also added a swipe-to-refresh feature. Users will be able to refresh a webpage by swiping or pulling down.

If you’re a privacy-minded user, Firefox Focus is definitely the browser you should set as default on your Android device. It will even remind you to erase your history when running in the background by pushing a notification to your device. Simply tap the notification and your history is gone.

Make sure you check out Firefox Focus in Google Play Store. It’s free.

Readers can now read left-aligned text (ragged right) in Amazon Kindle on Android.

Amazon just made it easier to read books in Amazon Kindle on Android. In an update published recently, the Kindle app adds the ability to read books using left-aligned text. The default was justified text, that is text aligned on both left and right margin. Most, if not all books are left justified while the right margin is either ragged or justified too. For the latter, this is commonly known as centered text, which can create awkward spaces between words.

The new alignment option is not enabled by default and may not apply to every books in your library of the Kindle store. To enable left alignment, tap the Aa settings at the top of the screen inside books that support Enhanced Typesetting.

It's great that Amazon added this feature and give the choice to readers to enjoy the best reading experience. Personally, I'll stick to the justified layout. I've grown so accustomed to that layout. Download the update in Google Play Store.

Amazon Kindle for Android now displays the clock right in the book or magazine you're reading.

One can easily lose track of time when reading and Amazon Kindle is aware of that. In their latest update to Amazon Kindle for Android, they introduced a clock that becomes visible at the top left corner of supported books or magazines after enabling the feature in the app settings. According to the change log, the same feature can be toggled on or off by tapping the upper, left-hand corner of the page. And I confirm that this useful feature just works.

In addition, Amazon also added a new font dubbed the Amazon Ember Bold in the Display Settings. A heavier font Amazon says may make reading easier.

Go check these new features by downloading or updating the app in Google Play Store.

Amazon fixes "Go to Amazon home" error on Android.

With the holidays season already upon us, you want to make sure your shopping apps are working flawlessly and online retailers like Amazon also wants you to enjoy the best experience when using their apps. According to Amazon, a "small number" of users have been experiencing an error in their app for Android asking them to "go to Amazon home". To fix that, they are asking that these users update Android System WebView app on their devices. They also need to update to the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app in Google Play Store.

There are two versions of the app in the Store:

• For phones.
• For tablets.

Amazon app for Android gets a redesigned icon and bug fixes.

New icon

Old icon

It's not often that Amazon issues an update for its shopping app on Android. While this one does not contain anything major, the new icon is still newsworthy. The iconic Amazon logo with the arrow underneath are still there, but the basket is not in full view anymore as can be seen in the images above. I don't know what message this change is supposed to convey, but it certainly isn't going to change my shopping habits on the site. And of course there's more in this update. Amazon says they made the app better through bug fixes and performance improvements.

Grab the update in Google Play Store and happy shopping.

Amazon Kindle for Android updated with new navigation experience called Page Flip.

Amazon is offering a new navigation experience to its Kindle app for Android and iOS, including its Kindle family of e-readers. Called Page Flip, the update is already available in Google Play for download. However, I'm am not seeing any of the new features in the app though.

Here's what's new with Page Flip. Besides the obvious flip gesture we're accustomed to thanks to FlipBoard, the updated Amazon Kindle makes it easier to "save your place" and pin your pages.
Say you want to reference a page, a chart or a picture on another page, Page Flip will pin your page to the side of the screen when you swipe away. Tap the pinned page again to get back to where you stopped reading. 

Page Flip also includes a bird's eye view feature that makes looking for a picture or passage easier and quicker to find.

Check out the video below to see Page Flip in action before heading to Google Play store to get the update.

Amazon rolls out Bookerly font and Word Runner for Kindle to Android.

I occasionally enjoy a good book when there is one out there, which amounts to about two to four books per year. Amazon Kindle being a cross-platform, it is my ereader of choice and today the Android version of the app got updated with two features that avid readers will appreciate.

Amazon added a new font in this update called Bookerly. This new spacious font initially debuted on Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite before being deployed to the kindle family of devices. Bookerly is now available for Kindle apps, on Android and iOS.

Another feature that Amazon is porting to its Android app is Word Runner, "a fun new way to read faster." Enabling Word Runner will display the text in the middle of the page to keep "your eyes focused on the center of the page and brings each word right to where your eyes already are." This sounds cool and I will definitely give it a try and post my feedback later. Will you use Word Runner?

Download the free update on Google Play Store to try Word Runner and Bookerly.

Amazon for Tablets now lets you shop in Mexico.

Gone are the days where you had to rush back home to order something on Amazon. With the advent of apps like the Amazon for Tablets, purchases are made on the go, anywhere an internet connection is available. Amazon packed the same functionalities into its app that we're familiar with on its web site plus the ability to switch between stores around the world on the fly. In an update published today, Amazon has raised the version number of its app to 5.51.4310 and added Mexico to the list of available sites in the app. 

The update also contains the usual bug fixes and performance improvements. Head over to the Google Play Store to download the update and start shopping in Mexico.

Amazon Kindle for Android updated with Word Wise to quickly understand difficult words without much interruptions.

As a father, I find Word Wise to be a super useful addition to Kindle. With Word Wise enabled, readers will see short and simple definitions automatically appear above difficult words. And Amazon Kindle does that without being too intrusive. Briefly putting it to the test today, I found that Word Wise did indeed offered a clear definition of words that I would have otherwise stopped my reading to get the definition - using the good old press and hold. Again, as a father of a little girl who's main spoken and written language is French, this makes my task of teaching her English so much easier.

The update, which was released two days ago, brings you more info about the book itself and the author. See the full change log below:

• Read more challenging books with Word Wise.
• Learn more about the book and author before you start reading.
• See popular highlights from other Kindle readers.
• Create flashcards from textbooks to help you study.
• Look up words with any dictionary.
• Control Audible playback easily without leaving the page.
• Navigate manga easily with a table of contents.
• Bug fixes.

Source: Google Play Store

Control audiobook playback from the Library in Amazon Kindle.

Amazon Kindle for Android picked up an update that brings the app to version 4.9.0. Whether you're an avid or casual reader, Kindle is the go-to app for book reading on your devices. And you're not limited to reading, since Kindle also lets you listen to audiobooks. 

In version 4.9, Amazon has added the control of audiobook playback from the library. I'm not sure how useful that is, but I assume it will make sense to "audiobook-phile". If you belong to that group, grab the update in the Play store as it also contains some experience improvements and bug fixes.

Amazon Kindle: Start playing narration before audiobook download completes.

The app that brings over a million books at your finger tips has been updated today with the ability to start playing narration before the audiobook download is complete. No need to wait for the book download to complete before you can enjoy your audiobooks.

Amazon also updated Kindle app with localized support for Dutch and the ability to tap on highlight to edit, plus the usual bug fixes. The app is available free in the Play store.

Amazon Kindle for Android lets you switch between reading and listening.

Amazon published an update today to the Play store for it's Kindle app that reminded me that it has been a while since I last read a book. I am very busy these days and reading activity has been relegated under the if-time-permit category, unfortunately. I'll have to sort this out.

In this update, which bring Kindle for Android to version 4.5.0.123, Amazon added a nice feature that makes it possible to switch between reading and listening when the audio version of a book is added to Kindle. A feature that book listeners will very likely appreciate.

The other added features are:
- Jump directly to previous locations from the progress bar.
- Copy a word or phrase, paste into another program.
- Multi-color highlights
- Improved notifications

The update is available free in the Google Play store.