Amazon updates Kindle Fire software to fix performance & touchscreen

Amazon has issued an over-the-air update to improve performance and resolve some touchscreen issues for the Kindle Fire.

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Kindle Software Update Version 6.2.1 is available now and will be delivered automatically to connected devices.

If you don’t want to wait for the OTA update to come directly to you, you can also choose to download the update manually right now.

“This update enhances fluidity and performance, improves touch navigation responsiveness, gives you the option to choose which items display on the carousel and adds the ability to set a password lock on Wi-Fi access,” Amazon stated in a note on the new release.

Before the update, many Kindle Fire users had complained of issues with the touchscreen, browser and other features. Some reported that the screen was sensitive to accidental touches and even near-touches but that it would respond slowly to intentional touches.

Still, these types of reviews haven’t done anything to slow sales of the product. It’s quickly become Amazon’s best-selling product and is likely to continue its precipitous climb through the end of the year.

Currently, Amazon is selling one million Kindle units each week. The company has offered free shipping on the units until the end of today, December 21, in a bid to attract last-minute Christmas shoppers.

The tablet-e-reader hybrids, which retail for $200, are a welcome (if slightly downmarket competitor) to Apple’s iPad, and consumers have reacted positively to the cheaper Fire since its launch. After just two months of pre-sales and regular sales, Amazon had already shipped between 3 and 4 million units, making the Kindle Fire the second-most popular tablet behind the iPad.

Amazon stated last month that its Black Friday shopping numbers had quadrupled year over year for its full Kindle lineup.

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“Kindle Fire is the most successful product we’ve ever launched -– it’s the bestselling product across all of Amazon for 11 straight weeks, we’ve already sold millions of units, and we’re building millions more to meet the high demand,” Dave Limp, Amazon’s Kindle-focused vice president, told Reuters recently.