Amazon updates Kindle app with new Table of Contents, X-Ray features

amazon kindle 4 2

Amazon Kindle users will be happy to hear that the iOS client for the e-book service received a nice little update this morning. The release, which brings the app to version 4.2, brings about two substantial new features: Table of Contents and X-Ray Smart Look-Up, and other improvements.

The first new feature is fairly self-explanatory—customers can now access a book’s table of contents from within the app—but the second is a bit more subtle. X-Ray Smart Look-Up will allow users to take advantage of Amazon’s quick-referencing tool without leaving their current page…

Here’s the full change log from Amazon:

What’s New in Version 4.2

– Table of Contents: customers can now access their table of contents from the left panel navigation menu from within most books and see chapter headings and page numbers. Curious readers can tap a chapter to navigate directly to that part of the book.
– X-Ray Smart Look-Up: Look up Amazon exclusive X-Ray information without ever leaving the page. Select a word or name and learn more about the concept, person, or place in the Info Card provided at the bottom of the page

For those who aren’t familiar with the X-Ray feature, it’s exclusive to Amazon’s Kindle line and allows users to explore the contents of a book in greater detail. Touching a word can launch either the dictionary or a related entry from Wikipedia or Shelfari, all without an Internet connection.

While the changes made to the app today aren’t going to sway non-believers, current users will definitely want to grab it. As always, you can find Amazon’s Kindle app in the App store, for both the iPhone and iPad, for free. Obviously you’ll need an account with Amazon to get things rolling.