New update 5.04 update available for the Kindle Touch, Kindle for PC updated
Thanks to regular reader and commenter Tom Semple for the heads-up on this.
There is a new update available for the Kindle Touch (5.0.4).
The description isn’t very explicit: “This update features general software improvements for Kindle Touch.” 
I won’t get a chance to test it until later, but if you want to get it right away, you can at
Kindle Touch Software Update Page
There are instructions there for using your USB cable to transfer it to your KT.
You can also just wait, and you should get it when connected to wi-fi…that’s easier, but it’s hard to say when it will happen.
Tom also tells me that Kindle for PC has been updated to accommodate KF8 (Kindle Format 8). I’m not where I can test that one, either.
If you get either of these and notice differences, feel free to let me know.
Thanks, Tom!
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.
March 1, 2012 at 10:04 pm |
I can’t remember how to update my Kindle for PC sofware. Seems I recall that when you open it you’re told there’s an update, but mine just takes me to my library. Help when you can. Thanks.
March 1, 2012 at 10:06 pm |
Thanks for writing, Deb!
I don’t have it in front of me, but try this:
Open K4PC, and do
Help-Future Improvements…
Even though the Future Improvements page hasn’t been updated with a new description, go ahead and
Download the new version
March 2, 2012 at 12:29 am |
Hi Bufo,
Have you noticed that KDP reports now differentiate between sold, borrowed, free promo and free price matched downloads? I think that’s great! Your thoughts?
March 2, 2012 at 12:42 am |
Thanks for writing, Donna!
That’s great! It’s funny, because I was just told by the kDP folks on February 24 that
“At this time, free sales are not shown separately on the sales reports, however,
we’re making improvements to our reports to help give the clearest picture of
your sales.”
I guess those are those improvements.
I switched to the previous month and they didn’t show there…
March 2, 2012 at 5:13 pm |
How do we know if a book is KF8 — is that the extension? And are there major differences that will cause problems for the KK?
Ginny
March 2, 2012 at 8:03 pm |
Thanks for writing, Ginny!
What Amazon has said is that the books will continue to be available in the old formats, so there shouldn’t be any problem. There are major differences, but it won’t matter if the proper version downloads.
For more information, see this post:
http://ilmk.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/kf8-new-kindle-book-format-with-html5-css3/
March 3, 2012 at 1:40 am |
Many thanks for the posting regarding the new firmware update for the Kindle Touch. I had quit using the Touch because of all the problems with trying to turn pages and having it end up highlighting the word or going to the dictionary definition. I even went so far as to buy the Kindle3 to replace the Touch.
I absolutely love the K3, but at least I can use the Touch for backup now. My husband likes the Touch improvements too. Why did it take Amazon so long to make that one improvement? I was warning people away from buying the Kindle Touch.
March 3, 2012 at 2:40 am |
Thanks for writing, P.!
I’m glad that was helpful for you, and that you had such a positive experience with it!
March 4, 2012 at 10:52 pm |
But do we get thumbnails on the homepage? That is the million dollar question! Please Amazon! Please!
March 5, 2012 at 12:28 am |
Thanks for writing, Poodlepop!
Since I wrote about both Kindle for PC and the Touch, let me address them both.
You can see thumbnails in Kindle for PC…click the “Tile View” (it sort of looks like an equals sign).
I’m big on options, but I wouldn’t want to have thumbnails on my Kindle Touch by default. The more intense a screen image is, the more effort it takes the Touch to draw it, I believe. My guess is that, in addition to possibly being to fit fewer titles on a screen (if the images were to be big enough to be useful for a large number of people), my guess is that it would take more battery charge and longer to come up as you switched from screen to screen.
I suppose some other people would want it…I think I’ve seen one person mention it in the Kindle Forum recently. Again, I’d be fine with it as an option for those who want it (recognizing the development costs, of course), but for me personally, I wouldn’t use it. I’m not much of a visually-oriented person, though.
March 11, 2012 at 6:34 am |
[...] New update 5.04 update available for the Kindle Touch, Kindle for PC updated « I Love My Kindl… [...]
March 13, 2012 at 1:47 pm |
After updating my firmware to 5.0.4 I am seeing that the screen re-draws fully at each page turn, even if I have turned it off – unlike the re-drawing occurring after every 5 or 6 pages as before with 5.0.1 and 5.0.3.
Anybody else notice this or is it only on my Kindle Touch?
March 13, 2012 at 9:30 pm |
Thanks for writing, Madhav!
I’ll try and play around with that when I get back from vacation…
March 18, 2012 at 7:32 pm |
Wtf..what’s the point I see no diffence in my kindle whatsoever this is BS all that work for nothing..
March 19, 2012 at 1:39 am |
Thanks for writing, Ella!
Sorry you were disappointed.
First, you needn’t have done any work…you’ll eventually get the updates automatically (as I’d mentioned in the post). This one appears to just have been a tune-up sort of thing: no added features. You might not see anything, but you probably won’t see some problems or issues you were seeing before. It did seem to me that the touchscreen was more responsive afterwards.
So, in the future, you don’t need to install updates manually, although you can if you want. If something happens that’s different from that, I’ll let you know…and if I know about feature changes, I’ll mention those as well.