Amazon’s Kindle 2 is all set to receive a heavy dosage of much needed improvements in the  form of a firmware update. The update is a result of about 6 months of rigorous work. So what do we have in store this time ? To begin with, we will finally be having native PDF support (Thank you Amazon for being so not like APPLE/SONY), which means that you will now be able to view PDF documents straight away, without needing to convert them to Kindle formats anymore.

To access PDFs, Kindle users can email PDFs to their Kindle email address or download them straight onto the device via a USB connection. The users will also have a choice of converting PDF documents into the Kindle format by typing the word ‘convert’ in the subject of the email while sending PDF documents to their Kindle email address. Although there is no need of this feature anymore, but still it feels nice to have options.

Also in store is an enhanced power management update, which is believed to push the battery life of the device further northwards. It is claimed that the device would now be able to stay alive for about a week on a single battery charge with its wireless on and for at least two weeks at a stretch without the wireless. All this translates into a massive 85 % boost in battery life.

All new Kindles will be shipping with this new firmware upgrade right away, and it will also be pushed as a automatic free update to existing Kindle 2s, delivered ‘quietly’  through the Whispernet. The update will be automatically downloaded by the device when it goes into the sleep mode with active wireless connection, without hinting anything to the owner.

Nice work Amazon. Seems like the Kindle 2 just got more desirable.