Amazon has rolled out version 2 of their popular Kindle app for Windows Phone devices. The update comes without a changelog but was long overdue as their last app change came with version 1.2 way back in July. That update brought ‘Mango’ support including Live Tiles for books and this one goes along the same path but for Windows Phone 8.
The good news is if you’re on Windows Phone 8, the app now supports all resolutions and doublewide Tiles, including those for books, which is a neat twist. They will even flip to display some information, including the last book you read and where you are in a current tome.
The app is listed as Windows Phone 8 only though, which means for those on 7.x you can still download version 1.2 but you won’t be getting the new look (or of course doublewide Tiles).
Speaking of that new look, Amazon has gone for a more barebones logo with version 2.0, though it is only skin deep as it is merely on the Tiles and not within the app itself. The new logo is orange with ‘kindle’ emblazoned across, keeping the design simple and bold (we like). The app though still looks exactly like version 1.2.
Surprisingly, Amazon did not opt for a fast-resume, meaning if you tap the Tile of an already “tombstoned” app in the background it won’t continue as is but will instead re-launch the app. Hopefully Amazon can improve upon that in a future update as such functionality is crucial to the Windows Phone 8 experience.
Other than the look and doublewide tiles, we haven’t found too many differences. There still is neither search ability nor read-aloud function, making this app still lighter in features than its counterparts on other platforms. Still, we’re hearing that for some people some bugs have been alleviated with this release for syncing and opening of books, so that’s a start.
Edit: Make sure you do a "clean install" meaning you uninstall the app then re-install it,otherwise it will crash.
Windows Phone 8 users can grab version 2.0 of Amazon Kindle here in the Store. Thanks, Seth H., for the tip!
Daniel Rubino is the Executive Editor of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft here since 2007, back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Microsoft Surface, laptops, next-gen computing, and arguing with people on the internet.
