eBooks have one major advantage over their paperbacked cousins: they’re updatable.  It’s impossible to update a paper book without printing a new edition or issuing correction sheets.  But with eBooks, publishers can easily send out updates to book owners if they need to make a correction to a book.  The problems with this, of course, are that some readers might want to keep their original eBooks even if they have been corrected, perhaps to prevent the absolute original book from disappearing.  Amazon hit a nerve on this very issue last year when they deleted purchased books off of users devices over copyright issues, including, ironically enough, George Orwell’s 1984.  Amazon publically apologized about the way they handled the incident, and promised to never automatically delete books without the customer’s permission.

This week I was able to experience how Amazon now handles updates for Kindle books.  Earlier this week I received an email from Amazon stating that one of my books had recently been updated.  The email asked me to reply if I wished to received the updated book, and basically read as follows:

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We’re writing about your past Kindle purchase of the book. The version you received contained some errors that have been corrected.

An updated version of the book is now available. It’s important to note that when we send you the updated version, you will no longer be able to view any highlights, bookmarks, and notes made in your current version.

If you wish to receive the updated version, please let us know via e-mail at amazonkindle-feedback@amazon.com.

If you prefer, you can reach us by phone directly and toll free from many countries by clicking the Contact Us option in the right-hand column of our Kindle Support pages at:

http://www.amazon.com/kindlesupport

We apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your business with Amazon.

Nice support!  I figured I might as well get the updated version of the book, and replied to let them know.  They replied to let me know that the book had been updated on my account, and to manually sync if I did not see the changes.  Interestingly enough, the email included instructions to manually update the Kindle Device, and didn’t mention the other Kindle Apps, which was funny since I only use Kindle for PC.

At any rate, this shows that Amazon is definitely veering on the side of caution with eBook updates now.  I would have been fine with a simple notification in the app stating that an updated version is available; perhaps they could implement this system in the future.  Having to receive individual approval emails would seem like an administrative nightmare, but it is nice to know that Amazon is trying their hardest to keep the customer happy and not repeat the 1984 incident again!

For a number of reasons, mainly the wide variety of devices that are now compatible with Kindle content, Kindle is my preferred eBook solution and I always check it for books first before I check other retailers.  If you haven’t given it a try, download Kindle for PC and download a free eBook or purchase one you’ve been wanting to read to see how it works for yourself.

Kindle for PC is one of my favorite new programs for Windows, and a recent update made it even better.  The Kindle Store offers more new ebooks than most other ebook stores, and the terms usually allow you to keep books on up to 5 computers and devices.  I use my netbook as an ebook reader, and with all the ebook programs I’ve tried I still prefer the Kindle app.  Here’s what the newest update brings to Kindle for PC

Getting the Update

Kindle by default automatically downloads updates and installs them, so you’ll usually have the latest version of Kindle for PC installed.  Kindle for PC was released as a beta shortly after Windows 7’s launch last fall, so if you installed it when it first came out you may still be running the older version.  Just open Kindle for PC while you’re connected to the internet, though, and the latest version should automatically download.  Next time you open Kindle, it will automatically install the update without requiring you to click or select anything.

After the update installs, you’ll be asked to accept the license agreement.

Welcome to your updated Kindle for PC!  Notice the changes?

Changes in Kindle for PC 1.1.0

The latest version of Kindle for PC has several changes, so let’s explore them quickly.  Most noticeable is the old-style File menu at the top of the window.  This is an unfortunate design decision; previously Kindle had a consolidated menu on the right of the top toolbar similar to IE8.  Hopefully they’ll adopt a more modern UI instead of the File menu with future versions, but one thing we can be excited about is that they expanded the menu to contain more features.  On the front screen, most of the menu items are grayed out since they’re book-related features (another reason why modern, context-centric menus would be nicer … but I digress).

So let’s dive into a book to see the new features.  Here I’ve opened Linchpin by Seth Godin, the latest ebook I’ve been reading (very good reading/ideas, by the way!).  First off, Kindle tells us that we can now add notes and highlights directly from Kindle for PC!  This is the biggest features Kindle for PC was missing up till now, so it is a very nice addition.

To make a note or highlight text, just select the text and a context menu automatically pops up.  Choose the option you want.

Highlighting looks just like you would expect (though maybe they should make the highlight less straight to look more like my real-world highlighting!).

If you choose to add a note, the Notes & Marks sidebar will open so you can enter anything you want.  Click Save when you are finished.  Remember, Kindle will sync these notes and highlights to all of your computers or devices via WhisperSync, which is very handy!

If you decide you don’t want the highlight, right-click on it and select Delete.

Nice UI Enhancements

Another nice new change is the darker background color and shadow behind the ebook.  This is mostly a cosmetic change, but one I found very nice.

But for even more options, click the “Aa” button.  This button used to only change the font size, but now it contains a variety of options.

You can choose the font size, number of words per line, color mode, and brightness.  All changes can be previewed by simply hovering over the option, which is very nice.  The new color modes are especially nice.  The Sepia options looks more like real paper, while the Black option gives you White text on a Black background which many prefer for on-screen reading.  Here’s our book with the Sepia color mode … very nice.

And, right beside the Aa button is the newest button … which activates full screen mode!  You can also activate full-screen mode by pressing F11 on your keyboard, which is the universal “full-screen mode” shortcut.  Nice!

Here’s our book in full screen mode.  Now your PC really feels like a Kindle!  Press Esc on your keyboard to exit full-screen mode when you’re done reading.

The file menu offers the same options that we’ve used with the standard buttons, so it seems to be there just to help those who prefer file menus.  I hope they remove the file menu in a future update, but I’m one user that really wants File menus to die

Conclusion

That’s all the changes I noticed; if you notice any more, be sure to let us know in the comments.  As is, though, Kindle for PC is my favorite ebook reader for PCs, and I highly recommend it. These changes only made it nicer, and I can’t wait to see what other features Amazon brings to Kindle for PC over time!

Download Kindle for PC today!