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I just posted some notes on getting PDF content onto a Kindle two days or so ago. Today, Amazon announced a software upgrade to the Kindle that makes the device 100% more useful and versatile than it already was. The Kindle software version 2.3 that magically appeared on my Kindle and I noticed only once I received a notification mail from Amazon mentioning its existence adds native PDF support. No more messing around with file conversions or sending files to the Amazon Kindle account for half-baked PDF conversion: simply drag and drop a PDF file onto the device when connected to a computer, then read the PDF on the go.

I tested this with some Canon EOS instruction manuals and am happy to see PDF‘s in absolute detail and clarity – there’s simply no comparison to the conversion achievable with the PDFRead method I discussed earlier. This is where I see a lot of value in the Kindle: the ability to carry instruction manuals in PDF form anywhere, in a single, compact package. The sample below is not a screenshot taken from the Kindle, but the quality of the PDF in Acrobat Reader on the PC and on the Kindle is identical.

The addition of a native PDF reader is an absolute highlight – if you were still on the fence with regard to a purchase of a Kindle, this is one killer feature that may change your mind. Other improvements in the 2.3 firmware include the optimization of battery usage when the device is connected to the GSM network, the ability to view content in either landscape or portrait orientation and the ability to magnify sections of a document for clearer reading.

It’s just as well Amazon sent a note regarding the update – I probably would never have noticed even though the update had already taken place… Your Kindle will have the update too.

I still haven’t put up a review or any comments regarding the Kindle. It’s a great device and I’m using it more and more as time permits. The greatest killer feature (read killer for the wallet) is the absolute ease with which I’m able to browse the Kindle store and purchase books. A recent viewing of a documentary on National Geographic prompted me to look up a book by an author interviewed during the course of the documentary. The subsequent purchase of his book was an absolute no-brainer…

Another good use for the Kindle is the ability to display PDF documents. The standard way of having documents converted to PDF format is to send a document in an appropriate format to the service offered by Amazon. For a small fee (there’s also a free service), the input document is converted and sent to the Kindle once conversion has taken place. I’ve found the abilities of the Amazon conversion service to be mediocre, unless the document contains only text. For graphics-heavy documents, reasonably easy and free option is available in the form of PDFRead. PDFRead is a free, downloadable application that runs on Windows and Mac OS X. Its purpose is simple: take as input a file and convert it to a format that is suitable for viewing on a variety of readers, including the Kindle. The results for graphics-intensive documents are reasonable – don’t expect very crisp images. But it’s serviceable and certainly usable.

The application expects certain inputs, most importantly an input file and the resultant output file. Both formats should be specified and it is mandatory to enter a title and an author. Certain output options tweak how the resulting file will be output. For the Kindle, I use the profile prc-mobi-p for a portrait-optimized file.

A click of the Convert button, and PDFRead runs along. In the case of a PDF, each page is converted into an image and all images are later assembled into a cohesive output file for the Kindle.

The conversion process is one of best effort – images are slightly fuzzy and text not always clear.

The output file is copied to the Kindle via the USB connection.

If you require PDF content on your Kindle, this is certainly a very convenient and reliable method. Output depends on the content and the complexity of the images. Other than that, PDFRead is hard to fault.