Amazon started pushing an update to the Kindle Fire yesterday, and two words that no Android geek wants to hear were muttered shortly after: breaks root. Unlike the previous update to the Fire, this update can't be re-rooted using SuperOneClick.

It's not all bad in Fire-world, though; for the un-rooted, this update brings a number of fixes and performance enhancements to the sub-$200 device:

  • You can now remove books, apps or other content from the carousel of recently used items on the home screen.
  • Scrolling is smoother.
  • There’s an option to require a password to turn on WiFi (which could help prevent kids from purchasing apps without a parents' permission).

Amazon isn't the only one sending out an update that is breaking root - Barnes & Noble has also started pushing and update to the Nook Tablet that not only leaves users root-less, but also disables the sideloading of apps. Unlike the Kindle Fire update, it's possible that these are the sole tweaks caused by the update, as the only thing B&N has listed in the changelog is "the version 1.4.1 update provides minor system enhancements."

There is somewhat of a bright side for once-rooted Nook Tablet owners who took the update, though: it is possible to roll the tablet back to version 1.4.0 by simply dropping a file on the SD card on performing a factory reset. Of course, this means you'll lose all data, but at least you'll be able to root and sideload once more.

[Liliputing 1, 2, 3]