E-reader’s update version 5.1 includes a landscape reading option, support for more languages, and a new instant translation feature

Amazon has just announced an update to its Amazon Kindle Touch 5.1 OS. The new firmware allows you to quickly and easily transition between portrait and landscape mode in books and PDFs, making it much easier to read maps, graphs and tables.

You can also have Bing powered instant translation of words and passages into other languages which can be accessed after a user highlights text on their device display. And there’s also a new text-to-speech feature that reads English-language content aloud, as well as the inclusion of some new social sharing options that lets readers post what content they're perusing to Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to the new update you can now also customize your Kindle Touch with a language or your choice. Options include English (US and UK), German, French, Spanish, Italian, or Brazilian Portuguese.

According to Computerworld, Amazon will be rolling out the update via Wi-Fi in the coming weeks. But for those of you who simply can’t wait to obtain the new update you can download it manually from the Amazon website.

Alex Dupont

See Also

• More about machine translation
  Raw machine translation may be sufficient for communicating via social networks. However, you may have to consider human translation if you require high quality.
• Kindle Touch gets new software ahead of global launch by Mikael Ricknäs
  The e-reader is getting more language options and a translation feature
• Amazon's Kindle Touch 3G soon shipping in over 175 countries
  MacWorld story on new Kindle Touch