Hi All,
I'm from India and I'm planning to get a Kindle Fire HD 8.9' tablet. A friend will be getting it over as he's coming down. I'm an advanced android user with a couple of android devices and i've got experience in rooting, installing custom roms etc.I have a few doubts regarding the tablet. This tablet will be mainly used by mom, and i plan to make it as user friendly as possible.
I've gone through the FAQs, but i'm still a little confused.
1)I've read a lot about the 2nd Gen KF HD, will this affect me a lot? Is there a high possiblity of me getting the 2nd gen if i order it from amazon?
2)Since warranty is out of question, is the build quality good? I can manage with software glitches as there will be better custom roms addressing the issues, i want to know how sturdy it is.
3)Since there is no google play, i plan to remove the whole amazon eco-zone, as it's technically of no use here in india. So I've seen some CM 10 roms, although i'm not sure if they apply to the 2nd GEN.
4) Should i buy the ad supported one and then use the KindleFree Pro app? Or will the custom roms remove the ads by themselves. I'm asking this because 15$ makes quite a lot of difference.
I do have some more questions which I'll ask later on as they come up.
Regards,
CD
1) You will certainly get a 2nd generation Kindle Fire if you order it directly from Amazon, but if you plan on getting an HD8.9, it will be 2nd generation regardless of where you get it.
2) Google search "Kindle Fire drop test", "Kindle Fire stress test" or something similar and you will find plenty of reviews and videos showing how solid and sturdy the tablet is. I'm sure you will find that it meets or exceeds your expectations.
3) Development is still in it's earliest stages. There are CM10 or JB based Android ROMs for both the KF2 and the HD8.9, and are very solid with a few minor bugs that are still getting worked out on the kernel level. The Google Play store can be installed to a rooted stock device rather easily, so if the bugs involved with the custom ROMs is too much of a problem, there is no real reason to instal one unless you absolutely hate the stock UI.
4) The lockscreen ads are specific to the stock Kindle Fire firmware and never on any custom ROMs, but they can be easily be removed on a rooted stock device
soupmagnet said:
1) You will certainly get a 2nd generation Kindle Fire if you order it directly from Amazon, but if you plan on getting an HD8.9, it will be 2nd generation regardless of where you get it.
2) Google search "Kindle Fire drop test", "Kindle Fire stress test" or something similar and you will find plenty of reviews and videos showing how solid and sturdy the tablet is. I'm sure you will find that it meets or exceeds your expectations.
3) Development is still in it's earliest stages. There are CM10 or JB based Android ROMs for both the KF2 and the HD8.9, and are very solid with a few minor bugs that are still getting worked out on the kernel level. The Google Play store can be installed to a rooted stock device rather easily, so if the bugs involved with the custom ROMs is too much of a problem, there is no real reason to instal one unless you absolutely hate the stock UI.
4) The lockscreen ads are specific to the stock Kindle Fire firmware and never on any custom ROMs, but they can be easily be removed on a rooted stock device
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Click to collapse
Thank you very much.
So I'll go ahead and purchase it
CosmicDance said:
Thank you very much.
So I'll go ahead and purchase it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enjoy. Whilst we wait for fully functional CM10 ROMs (i need bluetooth) , the screen should be well enough to win you over - it is fantastic.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
I've ordered the Kindle Fire HD 8.9", fingers crossed as there isn't any warranty or service centres in my country.
CosmicDance said:
I've ordered the Kindle Fire HD 8.9", fingers crossed as there isn't any warranty or service centres in my country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
live in argentina, they sent me a new one and i sent the not working one, you could pay nothing or only some dollars, a bit. where do you live
Sent from my KFTT using xda app-developers app
persano said:
live in argentina, they sent me a new one and i sent the not working one, you could pay nothing or only some dollars, a bit. where do you live
Sent from my KFTT using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm from India
Sent from my Sony Xperia P
Sold
soupmagnet said:
1) You will certainly get a 2nd generation Kindle Fire if you order it directly from Amazon, but if you plan on getting an HD8.9, it will be 2nd generation regardless of where you get it.
2) Google search "Kindle Fire drop test", "Kindle Fire stress test" or something similar and you will find plenty of reviews and videos showing how solid and sturdy the tablet is. I'm sure you will find that it meets or exceeds your expectations.
3) Development is still in it's earliest stages. There are CM10 or JB based Android ROMs for both the KF2 and the HD8.9, and are very solid with a few minor bugs that are still getting worked out on the kernel level. The Google Play store can be installed to a rooted stock device rather easily, so if the bugs involved with the custom ROMs is too much of a problem, there is no real reason to instal one unless you absolutely hate the stock UI.
4) The lockscreen ads are specific to the stock Kindle Fire firmware and never on any custom ROMs, but they can be easily be removed on a rooted stock device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I'm sold. Must be best bang for buck
chindtown said:
Now I'm sold. Must be best bang for buck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Certainly best screen for buck!
Hi All,
I didn't want to start a new thread, so i felt I'll post here...
I received the KFHD 8.9" today, and i started it and first thing i noticed is that i have to register it with the amazon account, without that i couldn't use the tab like a normal android device with an app drawer. I have a few questions as a first time user of a kindle:
1) I couldn't find a way to skip the registration part, is it possible to skip it?
2) If i have to register my device with amazon, will it auto update to the latest firmware? Currently i can see the device version as v8.3.user_XXXXX is this 8.3.0 or 8.3.1?
3) Initially i want to just root the device and disable the OTA updates. I assume @soupmagnet's SoupKit will do this.(Although it's gonna be interesting as i've not used linux before)
Hope i made my doubts clear.
Regards,
CD
CosmicDance said:
Hi All,
I didn't want to start a new thread, so i felt I'll post here...
I received the KFHD 8.9" today, and i started it and first thing i noticed is that i have to register it with the amazon account, without that i couldn't use the tab like a normal android device with an app drawer. I have a few questions as a first time user of a kindle:
1) I couldn't find a way to skip the registration part, is it possible to skip it?
2) If i have to register my device with amazon, will it auto update to the latest firmware? Currently i can see the device version as v8.3.user_XXXXX is this 8.3.0 or 8.3.1?
3) Initially i want to just root the device and disable the OTA updates. I assume @soupmagnet's SoupKit will do this.(Although it's gonna be interesting as i've not used linux before)
Hope i made my doubts clear.
Regards,
CD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in your position a few months ago. I got the tablet because of the price. They were offering it to students for $250...which was the same price as two of my books. I then found out that I couldn't even use my own e-reader. It's such a power device, but it has a terrible UI and they give you next to no control over it.
You really have no choice but to root it. After you root it, please make sure that OTAs are disabled. I spent hours trying to get my kindle back to how it was after getting caught by an OTA. A few months ago, KFfirstaid was by far the easiest root tool, but I'm not sure if it's still supported.
Once you root, you can install google play and a new launcher. That should suffice for most users.
If you want, you can install hashcode's second bootloader/TWRP . It's not that hard to follow his directions, but it's more difficult than rooting. Then you can install custom roms, but most of them are still in trial phase.
URL="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2128175"]Hashcode's instructions[/URL]
It's well worth it to root it, but it might be more difficult to deal with than you're used to.
Hi all. I am also planning to buy one of these to use as a regular tablet. Couldn't care less about the Amazon stuff, to be honest. I'm just interested in the bigger, higher resolution screen compared to the Nexus 7.
So is it safe to assume that, once you root, disable OTA updates, install Google Apps and a new app drawer (ADW, GoLauncher, etc) this would act like any other Android device? Or are there any other quirks to take into account?
Sorry to highjack the thread, but I felt there was some common ground here
anacondo said:
Hi all. I am also planning to buy one of these to use as a regular tablet. Couldn't care less about the Amazon stuff, to be honest. I'm just interested in the bigger, higher resolution screen compared to the Nexus 7.
So is it safe to assume that, once you root, disable OTA updates, install Google Apps and a new app drawer (ADW, GoLauncher, etc) this would act like any other Android device? Or are there any other quirks to take into account?
Sorry to highjack the thread, but I felt there was some common ground here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but I would install the CM10 ROM - the amazon stock Rom is slower and has lots of unnecessary bloat (if you do not need those features, which most do not).
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
apd said:
Yes but I would install the CM10 ROM - the amazon stock Rom is slower and has lots of unnecessary bloat (if you do not need those features, which most do not).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but no thanks. At least not until a stable version is released.
I plan to use the stock OS and change the UI experience by using a different drawer, add some of my favorite apps and maybe even remove some of the Amazon garbage if i'm feeling adventurous, all without compromising stability, to use it as a general android tab. I was just wondering whether this would be possible, or if there's something I'm missing.
I'd like to know now, before I shell out the 300€
anacondo said:
Thanks, but no thanks. At least not until a stable version is released.
I plan to use the stock OS and change the UI experience by using a different drawer, add some of my favorite apps and maybe even remove some of the Amazon garbage if i'm feeling adventurous, all without compromising stability, to use it as a general android tab. I was just wondering whether this would be possible, or if there's something I'm missing.
I'd like to know now, before I shell out the 300€
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible. You'll need to root it. You'll find it works fine (but not particularly responsively) with stock OS and a separate launcher. If you're rooting anyway and want rid of the amazon cr!p, why not install a decent ROM? it is, of course, your choice and Hashcode's CM10 has some minor issues but I use it very happily as a daily driver.
There's no recent apps button in stock but there are ways around that in the forums.
Good luck!
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
apd said:
It's possible. You'll need to root it. You'll find it works fine (but not particularly responsively) with stock OS and a separate launcher. If you're rooting anyway and want rid of the amazon cr!p, why not install a decent ROM? it is, of course, your choice and Hashcode's CM10 has some minor issues but I use it very happily as a daily driver.
There's no recent apps button in stock but there are ways around that in the forums.
Good luck!
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because i won't be the only person using it and i'd rather have a stable product that works just fine than the latest, bleeding edge in performance. Also, i'm a bit worried about voiding the warranty, so i'd rather not go too deep until things are more certain (proper roms, 100% support for all functionalities, etc).
How bad is responsiveness, though? This is the first time i hear of this, and the last thing i want is a laggy device. Are there any tests or reviews out there, with hard numbers?
Thanks!
anacondo said:
Because i won't be the only person using it and i'd rather have a stable product that works just fine than the latest, bleeding edge in performance. Also, i'm a bit worried about voiding the warranty, so i'd rather not go too deep until things are more certain (proper roms, 100% support for all functionalities, etc).
How bad is responsiveness, though? This is the first time i hear of this, and the last thing i want is a laggy device. Are there any tests or reviews out there, with hard numbers?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's take this step by step. To install Google play and the launcher properly you will need root. You will also need root to remove amazon crap because some of it is system crap. As with all devices, that probably voids your warranty unless you return it to stock before getting a repair done (ie so they don't find out). So I'm not sure I see the logic of the warranty issue. If you read all the rooting threads, you will gain root first time and won't have any issues.
As for responsiveness with a third party launcher on top of stock, it is still responsive and usable, but less responsive. You will also have two launchers installed because the pure Amazon apps (eg kindle) are only accessible through the Amazon launcher if you are still on stock. There are no 'hard numbers' as each person's set up will be different and, also, the benchmarks are really quite useless.
Your starting point was to use the kfhd as a regular android tablet with the stock ROM. It will act like an android tablet but one with some quirks based on the stock ROM. If you want a stock android tablet, you need to go to cm10, which requires root (which you will have already) but also a second (removeable) boot loader. Again, read the threads before doing anything and you will not have issues. Look at the issues list for cm10 on the kfhd - the only real issue now is audio input and some people complain about 3d gaming.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD using Tapatalk 2
apd said:
Let's take this step by step. To install Google play and the launcher properly you will need root. You will also need root to remove amazon crap because some of it is system crap. As with all devices, that probably voids your warranty unless you return it to stock before getting a repair done (ie so they don't find out). So I'm not sure I see the logic of the warranty issue. If you read all the rooting threads, you will gain root first time and won't have any issues.
As for responsiveness with a third party launcher on top of stock, it is still responsive and usable, but less responsive. You will also have two launchers installed because the pure Amazon apps (eg kindle) are only accessible through the Amazon launcher if you are still on stock. There are no 'hard numbers' as each person's set up will be different and, also, the benchmarks are really quite useless.
Your starting point was to use the kfhd as a regular android tablet with the stock ROM. It will act like an android tablet but one with some quirks based on the stock ROM. If you want a stock android tablet, you need to go to cm10, which requires root (which you will have already) but also a second (removeable) boot loader. Again, read the threads before doing anything and you will not have issues. Look at the issues list for cm10 on the kfhd - the only real issue now is audio input and some people complain about 3d gaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know i'll have to root, and I know it'll void my warranty. But i'm somewhat more at peace by doing just that and staying stock (maybe even removing some apps) than completely wiping off the system and installing a 2nd bootloader. I may be wrong, but wouldn't it be simpler to revert to factory settings that way, in case I need to send it back?
I've been using android for a while now. I have used several roms with three different phones. Some were great, some others not so much. I've experienced its idiosyncrasies when things are still experimental, and I'm fine rebooting my phone every once in a while, or resetting the wi-fi because the driver is not working properly, if it's all for a greater good. But as I said before, this device won't be for me only, so I'd rather have stability and functionality at the cost of raw performance, at least until a stable rom with 100% functionality is released and the process is reasonably risk-free and fool proof. The other users of this device are non-tech savvy and I'd like to keep things as simple and smooth for them as possible.
That's why I'm interested in the quirks of the amazon firmware with another drawer app on top. What would be different from stock android? We will be using it mainly for web browsing, ebook reading, video and music reproduction, emailing and the casual game. I haven't had the chance to try one of this devices yet, so I don't know what could go wrong. Maybe the back and home buttons won't work with another drawer? You mentioned something about not having access to the recent opened app list. Those are the little things I'm interested about: they may not be show stoppers but they can make the day to day experience a little bit painful.
I've also been thinking about the ipad mini because of the ui and general ease of use, but since I can get one of these for 20eur less, with double the disk space and a far better screen, I would rather not. I just wanna make sure the kindle lives to my expectations
anacondo said:
I know i'll have to root, and I know it'll void my warranty. But i'm somewhat more at peace by doing just that and staying stock (maybe even removing some apps) than completely wiping off the system and installing a 2nd bootloader. I may be wrong, but wouldn't it be simpler to revert to factory settings that way, in case I need to send it back?
I've been using android for a while now. I have used several roms with three different phones. Some were great, some others not so much. I've experienced its idiosyncrasies when things are still experimental, and I'm fine rebooting my phone every once in a while, or resetting the wi-fi because the driver is not working properly, if it's all for a greater good. But as I said before, this device won't be for me only, so I'd rather have stability and functionality at the cost of raw performance, at least until a stable rom with 100% functionality is released and the process is reasonably risk-free and fool proof. The other users of this device are non-tech savvy and I'd like to keep things as simple and smooth for them as possible.
That's why I'm interested in the quirks of the amazon firmware with another drawer app on top. What would be different from stock android? We will be using it mainly for web browsing, ebook reading, video and music reproduction, emailing and the casual game. I haven't had the chance to try one of this devices yet, so I don't know what could go wrong. Maybe the back and home buttons won't work with another drawer? You mentioned something about not having access to the recent opened app list. Those are the little things I'm interested about: they may not be show stoppers but they can make the day to day experience a little bit painful.
I've also been thinking about the ipad mini because of the ui and general ease of use, but since I can get one of these for 20eur less, with double the disk space and a far better screen, I would rather not. I just wanna make sure the kindle lives to my expectations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what else I can add without repeating what I've said. CM10 will do exactly what you want and smoothly. Amazon stock will behave as I;ve already set out. This is no contest with the iPad Mini which is too small, with a crap screen and no ability to customise.
CosmicDance said:
Hi All,
I didn't want to start a new thread, so i felt I'll post here...
I received the KFHD 8.9" today, and i started it and first thing i noticed is that i have to register it with the amazon account, without that i couldn't use the tab like a normal android device with an app drawer. I have a few questions as a first time user of a kindle:
1) I couldn't find a way to skip the registration part, is it possible to skip it?
2) If i have to register my device with amazon, will it auto update to the latest firmware? Currently i can see the device version as v8.3.user_XXXXX is this 8.3.0 or 8.3.1?
3) Initially i want to just root the device and disable the OTA updates. I assume @soupmagnet's SoupKit will do this.(Although it's gonna be interesting as i've not used linux before)
Hope i made my doubts clear.
Regards,
CD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How's your experience been so far? Did you root using SoupKit for Linux in the end? Was it succesfull at removing the ads with version 8.3? Are you still using stock, or moved to CM10?
I seem to be in the same situation you were before buying the kindle, so I'm quite interested Would you still recommend the tablet?
Thanks!
Hey folks,
I have a KF2 non hd and i am a bit of a noob tbh, i side load apps all the time and apart from that the kf2 is totally standard, i want to see if i can make it more like my HTC ONE, so as i understand it i will have to root it and thats all i know.
Can you good folks advise me on what i can do please
Cheers
Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
fordy0508 said:
Hey folks,
I have a KF2 non hd and i am a bit of a noob tbh, i side load apps all the time and apart from that the kf2 is totally standard, i want to see if i can make it more like my HTC ONE, so as i understand it i will have to root it and thats all i know.
Can you good folks advise me on what i can do please
Cheers
Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HTC One is likely running an OEM version of Andriod called Sense, of which (iirc) the source hasn't been released, so you won't find it for the KF. However, there are plenty of other ROMs available that may suit your needs. Before we get into that, though, I must strongly suggest you get a factory cable before attempting anything, as it will help you in case things don't go according to plan (they rarely do). After that, there is a thread at the top of this forum that serves as a FAQ, and can be used as a guideline for pointing you in the right direction regarding what steps must be taken to get you where you want to be.
Good luck
Ok thanks for the reply, but whats a factory cable? NOOb question alert
Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
Its also known as a fastboot cable, they are very useful when your kindle gets a red screen of death, or you get stuck in a boot loop without any means of recovery because you can plug the cable in and it immediately boots up and goes into fastboot so you can reflash the system image from there and such.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HD running CM10.1 Tablet UI using xda-developers app