After what Amazon claims was a “six month firmware improvement and testing program”, the ultra-popular e-book reader Kindle has received an 85% increase in battery life.
The announcement of this significant breakthrough has many thrilled, as owners of the Kindle can now enjoy up to seven days even with wireless turned on, a hefty improvement from the previous battery life of four days. With wireless turned off, the battery life of the remains the same at somewhere in the two week range.
On top of nearly doubling it’s battery life, Amazon also announced the Kindle will now have native PDF support. The upgrade, previously only found in the Kindle DX, means that Kindle users don’t have to convert documents in the PDF format. Kindle users can transfer the PDF documents via email or USB.
“Kindle, already the #1 bestselling, most wished for, and most gifted product on all of Amazon.com, is now even better—with 85 percent more battery life and a built-in PDF reader,” said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “These two significant enhancements are available now.”
There was no specification as to how exactly the massive increase in battery life came about for the Kindle, just the previously noted six month lab phase. Regardless of how it came about, an 85% boost in battery life for any type of e-device is quite remarkable