Kindle Fire update coming in less than two weeks, fixes performance, multitouch issues

Is your Kindle Fire frustratingly slow? You’re not alone, as many owners of the tablet have complaints about performance. But thankfully, it seems Amazon is listening.

The company says that an over-the-air update, due within two weeks, will alleviate many of the Kindle Fire’s issues with performance and its multitouch screen, the New York Times reports. Additionally, the update will add a much-needed privacy feature: the ability to cover your web browsing history tracks (oddly, the NYT suggests this will be a great way to help you better cheat on your spouse).

For many Kindle Fire owners, the update can’t come soon enough. There are widely reported slowdown issues with the Kindle Fire’s browser, and its multitouch screen at times seems to have a mind of its own. These issues are easy enough to fix with software updates — thankfully for Amazon. But other issues with the tablet, including its lack of an external volume control, are impossible to fix, and consumers will just have to learn to live with them (consider it part of the cost for a $200 tablet).

The NYT speculates that Amazon will likely deliver a newer Kindle Fire tablet this spring, which falls in line with plenty of rumors surrounding a larger, more powerful Amazon tablet on the horizon. While the Kindle Fire aims for the low-end tablet market, the larger tablet, which is said to sport a 10-inch screen and quad-core processor, would be a direct competitor to Apple’s next-generation iPad.