Amazon’s Kindle Fire has sold remarkably well since its release. The device isn’t without a few interface issues including responsiveness and the speed of the web browser. Amazon just rolled out a software update version 6.2 for the Fire, presumably to fix some of those issues, although the company was fairly sneaky about the launch of this update.
Version 6.2 of the Kindle Fire’s software rolled out Monday night. Amazon provided little to no detail about the update before very quietly pushing it out to the public. Even more interesting is that the update activates automatically when the device is on an active WiFi connection and the battery charge is 40% or higher. No user intervention is required to activate the update, which also means there is no way to stop it.
Users are reporting that version 6.2 will de-root your device and some are indicating it will also seek out and remove instances of the Android Marketplace that have been installed. Everyone who has installed the update on a rooted device confirms it removes the root but not everyone is having the Android Marketplace removed. Another kicker of this whole business is the fact that the update is 181MB. That, combined with the inability to stop the update once it’s started, is an unfortunate combination for those who use their Smartphone as a mobile hotspot to get the Fire online. That 181MB is a decent chunk of data if you aren’t on an unlimited plan.
It still isn’t clear exactly what this update does and Amazon’s help page about the software only says;
“We have a new, free software update available for Kindle Fire. This software upgrade provides improvements to the operation of your Kindle Fire.”
Gizmodo reports that the update increased the input responsiveness of the device and my own install and test of the update confirms that the whole thing feels a bit snappier now.
If you did have your Fire rooted there’s a quick fix to get it re-rooted after the update. Superoneclick (Windows) and RootKindleFire (Mac/Linux) will be able to re-root the tablet despite the updated software.
Do you have a Fire? Did the update make your device more responsive? Did it remove your root and your Android Marketplace install? Let us know your experience in the comments.
