[Q] Mother's Day gift...need ROM suggestion - Kindle Fire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So I got a kindle fire for my mom for mother's day...need some advice though. *Keep in mind that she used to use a touchpad running CM9, but recently broke her screen...
With that said, she also did occasionally need help with ICS. That *may* have simply been bc cm9 wasnt entirely stable on the touchpad at the time (wifi issues, occasional reboots, etc.)...do you suggest that I give her AOKP/CM9 on her Kindle Fire, or should I just leave it stock? She mainly used the touchpad for reading, simple gaming (puzzle games mainly, angry birds, etc), email, and web, basic news apps (last I know of was Google Currents).
I know most ppl suggest that stock is fine for basic users, but just wanted some other suggestions in my case, since she's coming from a CM9 touchpad...albeit she did not use ics to it's fullest IMO.
Thanks

PredZ said:
So I got a kindle fire for my mom for mother's day...need some advice though. *Keep in mind that she used to use a touchpad running CM9, but recently broke her screen...
With that said, she also did occasionally need help with ICS. That *may* have simply been bc cm9 wasnt entirely stable on the touchpad at the time (wifi issues, occasional reboots, etc.)...do you suggest that I give her AOKP/CM9 on her Kindle Fire, or should I just leave it stock? She mainly used the touchpad for reading, simple gaming (puzzle games mainly, angry birds, etc), email, and web, basic news apps (last I know of was Google Currents).
I know most ppl suggest that stock is fine for basic users, but just wanted some other suggestions in my case, since she's coming from a CM9 touchpad...albeit she did not use ics to it's fullest IMO.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If she's only going to be using it for that stuff then I say go with the MoDaCo Gr8 ROM. It's stable, fast, and has Google Play.
If you want ICS then go with Energy or gedeROM.

Thanks for the suggestion...I did see that, but I wonder how any of Amazon's auto-updates may affect it? I do not live nearby, so if somehow her firmware gets autoupdated, and it breaks things (mainly GAPPS I would assume), I wouldn't be able to fix it asap...I don't want to set false expectations

i would stay on stock with root,with most of the roms not being stable and you don't live close...then stock is best,i'm on stock 6.3.1 with root...if it does updated the only think is she looses root and that very easy to get back...i'm using go launcher and over clock to 1.2 ghz....all i think one would need for basic things...

PredZ said:
Thanks for the suggestion...I did see that, but I wonder how any of Amazon's auto-updates may affect it? I do not live nearby, so if somehow her firmware gets autoupdated, and it breaks things (mainly GAPPS I would assume), I wouldn't be able to fix it asap...I don't want to set false expectations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can modify some file and it will prevent it from updating automatically.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=25648278
Here is the file that you need to rename.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=25648278
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

PredZ said:
So I got a kindle fire for my mom for mother's day...need some advice though. *Keep in mind that she used to use a touchpad running CM9, but recently broke her screen...
With that said, she also did occasionally need help with ICS. That *may* have simply been bc cm9 wasnt entirely stable on the touchpad at the time (wifi issues, occasional reboots, etc.)...do you suggest that I give her AOKP/CM9 on her Kindle Fire, or should I just leave it stock? She mainly used the touchpad for reading, simple gaming (puzzle games mainly, angry birds, etc), email, and web, basic news apps (last I know of was Google Currents).
I know most ppl suggest that stock is fine for basic users, but just wanted some other suggestions in my case, since she's coming from a CM9 touchpad...albeit she did not use ics to it's fullest IMO.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd recommend AOKP Milestone 5. Remember to remove the unicorns.
HOWEVER, the recovery is extremely easy to get to, and the last time my grandmother accidentally went into recovery she wiped the entire system. Flash stock recovery if possible.

PredZ said:
Thanks for the suggestion...I did see that, but I wonder how any of Amazon's auto-updates may affect it? I do not live nearby, so if somehow her firmware gets autoupdated, and it breaks things (mainly GAPPS I would assume), I wouldn't be able to fix it asap...I don't want to set false expectations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got my mother a kindle fire and put MoDaCo Gr8 on it because I figured it would be the best of both worlds: Play Store with no updates but stock Amazon functions intact (only way to still play Amazon Prime Video, which you get free for first month). She also lives to far away for me to maintain it for her, so I decided on MoDaCo because some folks said it is immune to updates. However after reading through the MoDaCo ROM thread, I see that previous versions were not immune to updates and nobody has talked about this version being immune to updates, but some are renaming the file etc/security.otacerts.zip to be doubly sure it will be immune to updates (you dont want updates because it breaks root and Play Store). A few folks who have MoDaCo Gr8 did NOT rename this file and report that they did not get the update.
I would highly suggest the MoDaCo Gr8 ROM because it is really nice, stable, optimized, stock, has location services, rooted with Play Store and other Google services, and possibly immune to updates, but do what I failed to do when I sent mine off to my mother and rename that etc/security/otacerts.zip file. Then I think you can be reasonably sure it will be immune from updates.
You can install GO Launcher, make it the default launcher, configure a wallpaper and lock it (with KFU), and add a shortcut back to "Launcher" (kindle fire launcher) which will launch the stock looking kindle fire interface like an app... home button always brings you back to GO... this way it feels like a fully unlocked android tablet.... VERY SLICK!

Related

[Q] Photoshop Touch on Kindle Fire?

I'm curious if anyone has tried to load any of the Adobe tablet apps onto the Kindle Fire, and if so, did they work?
I picked up a Kindle Fire yesterday, but haven't opened it yet, mainly because I don't want to find out the hard way that it won't be able to use awesome tablet apps that are currently only available in Google's Android Market.
I've heard that you can sideload apps on the Kindle Fire, but I'm not sure if that would work in this situation since it is a paid app that requires the Android Market. I don't have any other tablets, and when I went to buy the Photoshop Touch app on the Android Market website, it told me it wasn't compatible with any of my devices (only have Android phones so far).
I am guessing it would work, but the resolution is going to cause some of the Gui elements to be cut off, just like the HTC Flyer.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium
I tried to install it. It responded with a parsing error. Probably because the Fire is 2.3 and the Photo Shop Touch is only compatable with HoneyComb/ICS
Thanks for the answer. Good to know; I'll just have to wait for a port of ICS to the KF before purchasing Photoshop Touch.
and also, why not just root it? it is really a rather good tablet for it's price once it is rooted.
then you CAN get the android market on it (without having to sideload etc)
The android market website does say that Photoshop Touch is incompatible with the Fire. It says that Photoshop Express is compatible (that one is in Amazon's appstore, but the Amazon appstore says it's not compatible!) but all those other 9.99 Adobe tablet apps say they're incompatible.
has anyone tried sideloading these? if so how did you download/pay for them?
I got it to run using a custom ICS rom. I don't know about side loading tho
It works pretty well on ICS, all gui elements fit thx to fit button in ICS. But you probably will have to sideload it since kf not officially supported
Fit button?
ZyxxeZ said:
It works pretty well on ICS, all gui elements fit thx to fit button in ICS. But you probably will have to sideload it since kf not officially supported
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What fit button? I am running jandycane, a custom jellybean ROM. Also what ROM?
omadhaun said:
I'm curious if anyone has tried to load any of the Adobe tablet apps onto the Kindle Fire, and if so, did they work?
I picked up a Kindle Fire yesterday, but haven't opened it yet, mainly because I don't want to find out the hard way that it won't be able to use awesome tablet apps that are currently only available in Google's Android Market.
I've heard that you can sideload apps on the Kindle Fire, but I'm not sure if that would work in this situation since it is a paid app that requires the Android Market. I don't have any other tablets, and when I went to buy the Photoshop Touch app on the Android Market website, it told me it wasn't compatible with any of my devices (only have Android phones so far).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was curious as to see if this app worked on the KF. I don't know/care what you do, but to get anything done with a Kindle Fire, you MUST root it. If you have one of the old versions (where/when did you buy it) then it comes with a heavily modded android 2.3, which does no good for anything, so I suggest that you root it with the KFU, install TWRP, and load up Ice Cream Sandwich, or Jellybean on it. I have twa_priv's latest CM10 jellybean custom ROM with the leaked 4.2 Gapps installed, and it does wonders! If you think that you would prefer a more vanilla ROM, I would go with Hashcode's; it is really good too.
Anyway, back to your dilemma/question: can you run Adobe Photoshop mobile products? the answer is yes; however, (at least for me, as my KF is not cloaked as a Galaxy Nexus) the Play store says it is incompatible. So I decided to do a google search of the latest apk, and downloaded it. Once I moved it over to my KF, it took about a minute to install (quite long, so don't worry that it isn't doing anything). I opened it up, and it works just fine. No crashes or anything; and it is a very good app, I think, after just playing with it for about 10 minutes.
So your answer is yes: first root and ROM your KF, then google search the latest apk and install it.

[Q] amazon services : Stock v/s CM7 which is better

I am not trying to stir up debate
I have a amazon prime account, as well as i love books provided by amazon.
so right now i have stock rom rooted and customized to my need.
however i want to know is if i go with CM7 what are the changes i should expect what features i should expect not to work.
any other precaution i need to keep in mind.
Right now i have rooted, google play installed, go launcher as default launcher Stock rom. which now doesn't looks much like stock rom.
anantshri said:
I am not trying to stir up debate
I have a amazon prime account, as well as i love books provided by amazon.
so right now i have stock rom rooted and customized to my need.
however i want to know is if i go with CM7 what are the changes i should expect what features i should expect not to work.
any other precaution i need to keep in mind.
Right now i have rooted, google play installed, go launcher as default launcher Stock rom. which now doesn't looks much like stock rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your really into prime then dont change... you wont be able to use prime video and personally the stock kindle book app is better than the play store book app...but if you go with cm7 you could get netflix going and still read and be able to play more games... but if you like what you have i wouldnt change. seems like you have a good setup for your needs
If your going to stay stock consider this LINK
DJLamontagneIII said:
If your going to stay stock consider this LINK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Modaco GR8 (from above link) is a spectacular rom. I use it and have access to Netflix, Hulu (NOT HuluPlus with paid app called Flash Video Browser) Dish, Slingplayer as well as Amazon Prime (native, not the Play app) and Amazon book lending. Basically the rom gives you everything from the stock rom (and I mean everything) along with the Play market and everything else you want. Best of all worlds.
DJLamontagneIII said:
If your going to stay stock consider this LINK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks like something interesting.
masquerading as Galaxy Tab for maximum app availability​This is only thing i have not done will do it and then i think i will have a better system.
will download the rom to see what makes it tick.
Thanks all for helping with suggestions.
CM7 rocks!!

Best option for mom?

I got a kindle fire for my mother. Wondering what the best course of action would be. Looking for a rom that i can install and not worry about updates, so as stable as possible. i was looking through and it seems like there is a netflix bug with the 3.0 roms? that is a bit of a deal breaker. can i get the play store and everything just with root?
can someone at elast tell me if there are any bugless roms? actually a couple bugs are fine, but i think no netflix kills it.
Have you a considered leaving it like it is? There's a lot to be said for the stock ROM for Moms and suchlike.
Lotek said:
Have you a considered leaving it like it is? There's a lot to be said for the stock ROM for Moms and suchlike.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, the stock rom is pretty hard to "F" up through normal usage.
Just my opinion, I had the same decision to make on my wife's, so I flashed the MoDaCo 6.3 and she didnt even know, except that you can tell by some downloded apps icon's resolution not showing great. But she is OK with that. Also, keep in mind that she doesn't watch movies on the Fire.
I have no problems on ics roms with Netflix. Once you mod the build.prop it will work. For her, I would go with modaco though. Everything works, and it feels like an Amazon device.
Sent from my MB870 using XDA
I'd say keep it stock too. If she has issues with it, then you can try a rooted rom then.
i just stayed with stock 6.3 and rooted and added the play store with go launcher...can't beat it...
i have no problem keeping it stock. i haven't looked into it too much. but mainly I just need to be able to side load apps, movies, music and books. I just assumed it wasn't possible with stock. the play store would be very nice too, but i'm almost positive that isn't possible stock. plus i'll be doing any tech support so i'd rather her have a nice ics rom that i know well.
i also just noticed aokp is officially supported, i didn't realize. I've got that on my phone and tablet. but there is no thread for the fire on rootzwiki, so i can't really tell what kind of bugs there are. anyone using aokp m5?
getting the play store on stock is possible cause i have it on mine,have you check xda for the aokp m5....you stay this is for your mother,i just leave it stock then cause the ics maybe a little confusing for her....ics is more advance in customization,don't get me wrong about ics...it's good,but there is always problems and it's not yet 100%...good luck in your journey...

Questions from new owner regarding Fire HD 8.9

Hey guys, I just grabbed a KF HD 8.9 off ebay for my wife for $225. I tried to convince her to go with a Nexus7, but she wanted the larger screen. Our previous phones were Android, so she'd be familiar with the Fire if the answers to my questions are positive. Here's a few questions I have if someone can please help me out:
1) From what I've seen reading on here, we can root the device and add the Google Play store. Is this correct? Are there any caveats to this (i.e., you must to do X or Y to be able to download apps after adding it)?
2) If I can install a customer launcher for her (I don't know what the current options are, but there was Nova, Launcher Pro, GoLauncher, etc when we had Android devices), would this largely cause the device to actually LOOK like normal Android? I don't see why there would be any issues, but I just want to clarify.
3) It appears (again, from reading on here), that you can sideload apps (I used the "allow unknown sources" box on my phone). Is that correct?
4) Is the HDMI out reliable?
I would install CM10 and call it a day, but it sounds like there are currently audio and HDMI issues on it, and those are two things we'll use a good bit.
I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, but it was the only one I saw devoted to the 8.9" version. These questions may not really matter for the differences in model, but I wanted to be sure I targeted the right audience,
Thanks for any help provided.
I've done much of what you are asking about using the following thread:-http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2096888
It's a long read, but worth it.
I'm using GoLauncher HD, and have live wallpapers up and running too - it looks just like any other android device.
The caveats are that some apps will not install/update from Google play - but will probably work if sideloaded. Added to that, Amazon will update your tablet and remove all your hard work if they get the chance - the thread provides tools to minimise this threat as well.
PS I've got a Nexus 7 too - much better tablet in all respects except screen size - that's why I got the KF8.9 as well.
Good luck
Thanks for the quick reply. If I remember correctly, you could disable updates on previous Android devices, is this not the case with the KFHD? The software wouldn't be the newest, but data wouldn't be wiped, either.
Amazon are pushing un-notified updates through various channels - you won't know until you suddenly lose root and all your google apps.
Very friendly user facing company NOT !!!
praed0r said:
Amazon are pushing un-notified updates through various channels - you won't know until you suddenly lose root and all your google apps.
Very friendly user facing company NOT !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. In that case, I might just sideload a launcher. Didn't know it was all going to be this much trouble
I have the kindle fire hd 8.9 and it rooted fine and I have a launcher on it which makes it look like a normal android tablet with Google apps. Have had no issues yet with Amazon forcing updates but if it happens it can't be that hard to block it.... some apps in play store won't install due to compatibility issues....but market helper app solves that.. or you can install the apk manually
CyCaboose said:
I have the kindle fire hd 8.9 and it rooted fine and I have a launcher on it which makes it look like a normal android tablet with Google apps. Have had no issues yet with Amazon forcing updates but if it happens it can't be that hard to block it.... some apps in play store won't install due to compatibility issues....but market helper app solves that.. or you can install the apk manually
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I doubt my wife would require many apps that are unavailable on Amazon anyways (if any).
I confirm that the HDMI works very well on my TV

One Month of use and playing with it, here is the result

Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
I have an Important Question: please help me
1.Can this phone show 3D side bye side movies without glasses ( like LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D) ?
2. Can this Phone Capture 3D images or videos?
danteoz said:
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Towel root works?? We can make a thread in the development forums to guide people to root it. PM me.
bagher said:
I have an Important Question: please help me
1.Can this phone show 3D side bye side movies without glasses ( like LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D) ?
2. Can this Phone Capture 3D images or videos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No to both.
the 3d is just a simulation, but a very convincing one. It uses perspective, and the best guess knowledge it gains from 4 cameras to guess where your head is. In theory, this could be used to watch a 3d movie, or photography, but it would need to be specially formatted for the Fire phone. As far as 3d recording goes, nope.
The 3d they call Dynamic Perspective. It is a lot like looking into a photo, but then being able to look around the inside of the photo as if it were a diorama. They use it in games and throughout the interface, though both are in the early stages.
bagher said:
I have an Important Question: please help me
1.Can this phone show 3D side bye side movies without glasses ( like LG optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D) ?
2. Can this Phone Capture 3D images or videos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think of it as a 3D phone. Pretty much only the lock screen is 3D. Out of the five cameras on the phone, only one is a camera and the other four are used to track where your head is. That being said, it is a fantastic phone.
---------- Post added at 03:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 AM ----------
danteoz said:
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you considered that the Ease of Use is hard because you're comparing it to other Android platforms? It really shouldn't be compared to Android at all.
For the Love of Tech said:
Have you considered that the Ease of Use is hard because you're comparing it to other Android platforms? It really shouldn't be compared to Android at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why shouldn't I compare it to android? It is android under the hood with a multitude of tweaks. Even iOS and Windows phone both support having apps arranged in a manner that makes finding them easy and how you want it. So far the Fire has not shown that. I had an original kindle fire, it was quickly rooted and I loaded custom ROMs within a few weeks because the interface was really bad for running multiple apps.
For me personally and anyone else I've shown it to, it is far from user friendly. But again that is my opinion of it and that was what I gave here, my opinion and observations.
danteoz said:
Hello,
So, let me start by saying that I am by no means a developer but a tinkerer by trade. I got the Fire Phone the day after Release. My initial reaction was disgust at the interface and usability of it all. I found the carrousel interface to hinder my use of the phone. The Apps I needed always rotated away and I would spend more time scrolling over to find something than it would ever take me to find and launch from the traditional Android launcher screens. So I set about finding a way to "restore" functionality.
Previously I've had a Motorola Milestone, Motorola Atrix and Samsung GS3. My SGS3 had abysmal battery life, which is why I switched to a new phone. Comparatively, the Fire Phone so far has had brilliant battery life. I've been unplugged overnight and still been at 40%+ in the morning when it was around 80% the night before.
I had used towel root recently on my SGS3 and I tried it on the Fire Phone. It worked. I just downloaded the most recent version from the towel root site, allowed apps from other sources in settings, and first try it worked. I installed Root Explorer from the Amazon Store. Using the instructions from another Thread about getting G-Apps onto a Kindle Fire I was able to load Chrome, Play Music, Google Maps, Gmail, and the play store. There are some small quirks though. The Play Store does not work. It says no connection when opened. And the Google play services is constantly crashing and slightly annoying. I also found on AppAPK a download for the galaxy launcher. I installed that and at first I could not set it as the default launcher but There appeared to be some sort of update or something that rebooted my phone at this point the launcher asks which to use when it needed the launcher at boot and the galaxy launcher is not set to default. It still crashes if I try to set a background or widget but I at least have a functional home screen.
The only thing that really stops me from having a great experience with it now is an issue with Google Maps. Road names overlap and after driving for a short about of time words just become giant gray blobs of unreadable garbage. Navigation works fine and the maps themselves look okay, the words just become completely useless.
I do have to say that it has a really nice Camera, pictures look great.
I also wish there was a back button......this has been really hard to get used to as well. Having to swipe up from the bottom or hit the Home
I hope that there will be a custom Firmware someday, until then I feel like unless you really like Amazon kindle and Amazon services, or can tolerate a hundred workarounds to try and gain more functionality, stay away from this phone.
My overall Rating would be as follows:
Performance - 4.5 - I run into some hiccups every now and then and it gets hot even if you are just web browsing for a little bit.
Battery Life - 5.0 - Sooo much better than my old SGS3
Ease of Use - 1.0 - Out of the box, coming from several other Android solutions, it was the worst thing I have ever used. After all the tweaking and hacking ~4.0
Features - 3.5 - There are a lot of nice features but overall there are a lot of Gimmicks...also why no SD slot? No Google Play yet also hurts...
Overall - 3.5/5.0 - At least I got another free year of Prime out of it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I have it a week , I sideload the 4.6.1 update and updated in 5 minutes, I followed the tutorial to install Google services and play store and works flawlessly, I installed Google maps and youtube and chrome Along with more Google apps and other apps and they work flawlessly , I can install custom launchers and different keyboards but I like the stock launcher as its fresh from just seeing a grid off apps and the stock keyboard is fine, the only work around I did was to manually install the 4.6.1 update sand install Google apps, the phone is fast and never lags and has good speakers and hardware
The home button doubles as a recent app selector. Try installing 4.6.1 like suggested it totally makes the a better experience.
I'm using it for about a month and easy of use is OK, much better than some say it is. I'm using it with stock launcher and I can't understand this obsession of many users here to s**t all over it. Main problem with FireOS is absence of persistent notifications on top bar - system tray, and inability to choose which quick actions you want to have in system tray. Lock screen is also pretty basic but not to bad. Installing other launcher will not solve this problems. UX can be better but can be worse either. Overall its a great phone for price under $200.

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