Amazon has released a hefty update for its first entry into the smartphone market as the e-commerce company keeps true to its promise to regularly update the Fire phone.
The latest update brings the AT&T version of the Fire phone up to Fire OS 3.6.5. It brings the unlocked GSM version of the smartphone up to Fire OS version 3.6.8, though both variants of the phone received the same batch of new features and revisions.
Firefly, one of the Fire phone's more promising elements, was revisited and improved. The image and character recognition system can now recognize more than 2,000 famous pieces of art and its text system was expanded to translate between English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
The Fire phone's camera software was updated with a new mode. Best Shot, as it is called, captures three versions of a snapshot and allows users to pick the one they deem to be superior.
The update brought with it the ability to block calls from user-defined numbers and it included support for custom ringtones. Fire phone users can download new ringtones from the Amazon Appstore.
The Fire phone's lock screen was updated so that it now includes playback controls when music is playing. The lock screen can also be set to wake up when notifications hit the phone.
Amazon also thought about business users when it rolled out the Fire phone's latest update. The update includes a virtual private network client, enabling power users to connect to their offices securely.
With the latest update, the Fire phone now enjoys deeper integration into Amazon's ecosystems. Fire phone users can sync their calendars across all of their registered Amazon devices via the e-commerce company's industry-leading cloud platform.
Finally, the Fire phone's latest update gives the smartphone more control over documents. Users can write and edit documents in WPS Office, a Microsoft Windows alternative, while Kindle books can now be set to auto-scroll.
About a month before this latest Fire phone update arrived, Amazon said it would continue to roll out updates on the smartphone to find out how people respond to the changes and to learn how it can improve on its next device.
Right now, Amazon is making it easier for people to give the Fire phone a spin. The company has cut in half the price of unlocked Fire phones, bringing them from $449 to $229.
For individuals still unsure about the Fire phone and whether it is worth $229, check out Tech Times' hands-on review of the smartphone:
