In response to grumbling about various features, Amazon has released a new software update for the Kindle Fire! As you'll recall, people were unhappy about a lack of parental controls, despite all of the parental controls, and they were upset about the problems with purchasing, despite easy ways to fix this. So let's see what changes Amazon made to make the Fire even more user-friendly, which is certainly not a bad thing.
Again, software update 6.2.1 is being rolled out today (there isn't even a page for it on Amazon yet), but you can get it now by downloading the file directly from This Link. Then hook your Fire to your computer, move the file on, and install it. To see what version you're running, tap Quick Settings > More > Device, and check "System Version."
Once you have it going, you may notice improvements to the touchscreen and general responsiveness, but there are a few changes that deserve some more in-depth discussion.
Removing Items From Carousel
Being able to adjust or hide items from the carousel is a big plus. Sometimes you just don't want everything to appear there, and this new update takes care of that perfectly. Just tap and hold down the item, and you'll see a few more options than usual pop-up. In addition to "Remove from Device" and "Add to Favorites," you'll now see "Remove from Carousel." Easy and convenient. Note that removed items return to the carousel if you open them again.
Password-Protecting Wi-Fi Access
In my opinion, Amazon took an interesting tact to the problem of parental controls and purchasing problems. People weren't using the free apps, and they weren't using their account settings. So what could they do? They decided to wall off the Internet, which does go right to the root of a lot of these problems. With no internet, kids won't be able to make purchases or go where they shouldn't. It's a quick-fix solution that obviously prevents kids from doing anything productive on the internet too. But anyway, to access this feature, go to Settings > Enable Restrictions, and then activate and set a password for WiFi. In case it needs to be anymore obvious, it gives you a reminder "Be sure to disable WiFi before giving the device to your child."
Storage Breakdown
You can now see a clear breakdown of how much storage you have left for the 2 major categories. There's Application Storage (apps) with 1.17 GB and Internal Storage (Your Data) with 5.36 GB. It's unfortunate that space for apps is limited, though there is still space for plenty of apps. Remember, some apps can be serious battery and space hogs, and a good way to see what is doing the damage is Badass Battery Monitor.
It looks like any other major changes are all behind the scenes. Users who have "rooted" their devices will find their changes reversed and they will be blocked from re-rooting. If we come across any other changes, we'll be sure to let everyone know!
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