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Turning a Kindle Fire HD Into a Power Tablet

Posted by timothy on from the or-at-least-giving-it-some-muscle-tone dept.

jfruh writes "The Kindle Fire HD is in theory a powerful device at a reasonable price — but its Android-based OS is so oriented towards Amazon's ecosystem that it can be tricky to unlock its full potential. Still, with a little savvy you can get underneath the covers, improving battery life, getting full access to cameras and other devices, and even listening to music you've purchased through iTunes."

7 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Why support proprietary systems? by tsj5j · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Kindle Fire HD isn't especially cheap or well-specced for its' price. For a little more, you can support the idea that Android users DO want devices not laden with locked bootloaders, operating systems, forced UI makeovers, etc. with a Nexus 7.

    1. Re:Why support proprietary systems? by tsj5j · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The Nexus 10 is larger, higher-res and better specced at $85 more (comparing ad-free).

      I'll willing spend that much to vote with my wallet for an open, customizable device; not for one which is laden with commercials, locked to a single provider and essentially wants you to consume content only. I certainly don't want it to become like a portable TV, for viewing certain sanctioned content only.

    2. Re:Why support proprietary systems? by ckblackm · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's ridiculous. YMMV, but I set a budget, saved up my money a little bit at a time, and bought what I could afford. Just because someone can't buy the best thing out there, it doesn't mean they should go without. What it does mean, is that one should temper their expectations and not complain if their choice doesn't perform like the best thing out there.

    3. Re:Why support proprietary systems? by adisakp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you can't afford $85 more for a tablet with better spec's without the hassle of having to "do something to make it work better", you probably shouldn't be buying a tablet at all.

      You never considered the possibility of receiving a Kindle Fire HD as a gift and then wanting to maximize it's utility? Significant numbers of Fire HD's were given as gifts (with a huge spike in sales around XMas).

  2. I tried by Chrisq · · Score: 4, Funny

    Turning a Kindle Fire HD Into a Power Tablet

    I tried but I couldn't swallow the damn thing

  3. Nook HD+ make more sense? by guidryp · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Less money, higher screen resolution, Micro-SD memory slot, no adware.
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-hd-plus-barnes-noble/1110060512

    Workarounds for side-loading apps:
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-hd-plus-barnes-noble/1110060512

    Root:
    http://www.xda-developers.com/android/permanent-root-for-the-nook-hd-and-hd-unofficial-cm10-for-the-hd/

  4. Re:Good grief by rwise2112 · · Score: 4, Funny

    To save you some trouble, this is basically "how I like my Kindle Fire HD set up." I particularly enjoyed this gem:

    Caps lock: Just double-tap on the SHIFT key and it'll turn into the caps lock key!

    I TRIED THIS, BUT HOW DO YOU TURN IT OFF?

    --

    "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"