Kindle for iOS updated, gets X-Ray for Books

Amazon recently updated its Kindle app for iOS, which brings a new feature, called X-Ray for Books, that allows users to learn more about notable characters, places, and phrases and descriptions from Shelfari.com and Wikipedia. This feature has been available on Kindle devices for quite a while now, but this is the first time it has been available for iOS devices. Amazon also stated that the update adds better renderings for manga images.

Commenting on X-Ray for Books, Amazon states that a reader will now be able to see the ‘bones of the book'. As it gives you lots of information on a book, you don't need to switch between apps to refer to or look up something; everything can be done from the page itself.

Books have bones too, and you can now see them with X-Ray.

The Kindle for iOS version 3.5 is available as a free download from the iOS App Store and is 20 MB in size. To download the Kindle app for your iPhone or iPad, click here.

The Kindle app is optimised for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and allows users to read Kindle books, newspapers, magazines and PDFs on an easy-to-use interface. You get access to over 900,000 books in the Kindle Store. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across devices, including Kindle, so a user can continue reading a book on another device from where they left off.

The app also gives you the ability to email PDFs and other documents to a Send-to-Kindle email address, which are then delivered automatically to your device. The documents are automatically archived in the Amazon Cloud and available for re-download on a user’s iOS or supported Kindle devices. A user can also read PDFs from Mail, Safari, or by transferring them from iTunes.

Users can also get free book samples, which provide the first chapter of a book for free so users can decide on books before they buy them. A user can also customise their reading experience by choosing the margin size, background colour, font size, and either portrait or landscape format.

Users also have the option of instantly looking up a word while reading; you can tap and hold a word to view the definition. One can also use Google and Wikipedia links to get more information.

Apart from this, a user can also search inside the book to find a character, topic, or section you want to revisit and tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages.