We have a new, free software update available for the Kindle Paperwhite that you can download. The software update will be delivered automatically via wireless to your Kindle Paperwhite in the coming weeks or you can download it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=201063560

New features in this update include:

- Improved Fonts: We have made changes to Palatino, Baskerville, and Futura to make them look even better on Kindle Paperwhite. You will notice this when reading books, as well as in menus. We've also improved the Japanese and Chinese fonts on your Kindle and tuned spacing to provide a better reading experience.

- Turn off Recommended Content in Home: You can now turn on or off recommended content from the Kindle Store while in Home.

- Smoother sample-to-book experience: When you buy the book after reading the sample, we will now automatically start the book at your last reading location in the sample and remove the sample from your Kindle.

- Easier Access to Settings: When reading a book, you can now access Settings directly from the menu.

- Simplified Chinese Support: You can now use your Kindle Paperwhite in Simplified Chinese.

- Improved Manga: We've added a new Fit-to-Screen Mode that improves the readability of Manga and maximises the use of your Kindle screen.

- Page Refresh in Comics and Manga: You can now specify a page refresh setting for comic books and manga independent of the refresh setting for books.

If you have updated your Kindle Paperwhite and have questions, please post them below.

Looks interesting. Pleased they're giving us direct access to settings via the menu when reading a book rather than having to go back to the home page. It will be nice to turn off recommended content too.

Dave.

All these seem good improvements (although I cannot speak for the Chinese and the Manga). I am especially pleased to be able to reach the settings from elsewhere other than the home page.

That's quite a confident and pleasant gesture....

Quote: "If you have updated your Kindle Paperwhite and have questions, please post them below".

OK that was easy enough - took a while though (15 minutes to download file onto computer but we do have a slow broadband connection). Instructions straightforward. Outcome good

Just done mine manually and all went well. Recommendations are now turned off, hurray! Can't really comment on the fonts as the ones they say they've improved, I wasn't using anyway so wouldn't notice a difference.

Hefty .bin file to download ... 163MB. Once on the Kindle though it didn't take long to go through its update routine and perform an automatic restart.

Dave.

Peope have been asking for the "sample-to-book" enhancement for a very long time, so it's good to see that being implemented. It would be better still if we could have a similar update for the other models, such as my trusty KK!

how do you turn off recommendations? is it available on the kindle with special offers or are recommendations always visible?

Flavia, the Paperwhite isn't sold in a "Special Offers" version in the UK.

apologies, wrong country. Can anyone answer the question , I"m in the US..

Home, Menu, Settings, Device Options, Personalise your Kindle, Recommended Content.

Thank you Denis.

Hi,

I'm using Mac OSX 10.8.2 and have plugged my Kindle Paperwhite USB cable in to update, however my MacBook Air doesn't see the Kindle. I've tried all of the USB sockets, restarted the Kindle and MacBook Air but no joy. The Kindle is recieving power from the MacBook Air because it is charging it.

Does anyone have a solution?

Cheers

DLB

I'm using OSX as well but my Mac sees the kindle without any problems. Do you just look on the screen or do you go to your hard drive and look in there as well?

I also did mine on a Mac and had no problem. you need to go to Finder and there you'll see the Kindle coming up as a separate drive.

Mine looks good but the font improvement doesn't help me as I need improvements on the other fonts and a general adjustment to the size options as the sizes are smaller than on the Touch with a large gap between 5 and 6. I could do with 5 1/2.

Can someone give me the email address to write for feedback please, it can't hurt to contact them.

I've checked everywhere, including the Finder sidebar, I've even checked with Disk Utility to see if that sees the Kindle but it doesn't.

I was also hoping that they would fix the font sizes. On the touch and keyboard I usually use size 4 but on my paperwhite I'm using size 5. I'm not sure what the email address is though.

Problem solved it was the cable. I tried a friends Kindle cable and it mounted the Kindle to the Finder. Must have a dodgy cable....bizarre!

Josie, feedback email address is ... kindle-feedback@amazon.co.uk

Dave.

Thanks Dave.

Shanghaichica, perhaps you could email feedback as well? The more we do it hopefully they will eventually deliver.

Are we going to get an update where we can turn the light off completely? So if we are happyily reading during the day and dont mind it looking a bit greyer, we can save the battery?

Liz, there's really no need for it IMHO. Even at full brightness the LEDs draw very little current. At the lowest setting, although it's not completely off, the current drawn will be tiny, just a quiescent current.

Dave.

Then theres obviously something wrong with my paperwhite, as Im reading about an hour a day and I needed to charge it up twice already, and mine was on the lowest setting.

You reviewed it on 30th Oct, Liz. Charging it twice since then does not indicate any problem with your Paperwhite.