By Barry Marks of the Kindle Korner list

The Kindle for Android app on my phone just updated this morning, and a notice popped up asking me if I’d like to try scrolling. I clicked Yes, and sure enough, it scrolls. You can make the change from within the Aa menu. It will also let you return to the regular paging.

When I read on my phone, I use either the Kindle app or Moon+ Reader. Most of my books are Kindle books, but I’ve found that if I use Moon+ with a converted version, it’s about as fast to sync with my Kindle using search as the Kindle app can sync automatically. So I’ve usually converted my books and read them in Moon+ since it lets me scroll. In the early days of ebooks, scrolling was the norm. A few apps paged. Most scrolled. I got used to not having the little break in concentration at the end of each page, and it spoiled me.

Now finally I can scroll my Kindle app. I’ll probably still use Moon+ with non-Kindle books, but I suspect I’ll be using the Kindle app more now. Time will tell.

I do most of my reading on the Paperwhite, but my phone is always with me, so I read more than a little bit on it as well. I really like reading on the phone, and I’d do more of it but it’s hard on the battery. Hopefully this scrolling feature won’t make it even worse.

Some apps scroll automatically, which I’ve never liked. I don’t read at a constant pace, so I’m always getting behind or ahead, and it’s awkward. Moon+ and now the Kindle app let me just move the page along with my thumb as I read. I do this without thinking about it.

The way it’s handled in the Kindle app is a little different. Moon+ has a little break between chapters so at the end of a chapter it takes an extra nudge to get it started in the next chapter. The Kindle app doesn’t do that. It just scrolls right past chapter breaks like they weren’t there. I can see them, but they don’t slow me down. I like that. That’s how a lot of the apps scrolled when I was reading on a Palm.

Scrolling is very smooth and effortless. Amazon has done it just right. They rarely get things right on the first try but this time they did it very well. Thanks, Mr Bezos.

Editor’s note: The Kindle app listing in the Google Play Store shows the last revision was November 30, 2018. But many people may still be unaware of the new scrolling capability, which also works on Android tablets. Last year, Amazon offered the scrolling feature for iOS. Another recent change—which may or may not work yet on your version of the Kindle app—is intended to let phone and tablet owners store books on external memory cards. The screenshot is from my Pixel XL Android phone using the Twilight App to filter out blue light. – D.R.