DomoPad on the $50 Kindle Fire
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:31 am
Amazon had the $50 Fire on sale for $35 on Black Friday so I decided to get one to try. It was delivered over the weekend and of course the first thing I tried was DomoPad!!
Since the Fire doesn't come with Google Play installed, you have to do a few things first. I Googled for a bit and found a list of APKs to install (you'll need to enable developer mode and the ability to side-load apps first). After loading the appropriate supporting APKs and then the APK for the play store itself, I was able to search for, and install DomoPad without issue. On first launch I did get an error saying that DomoPad required Google something-or-other that wasn't installed, but it loaded and worked great after that. Wake-on-face-detection doesn't seem to work, but that's probably solved with finding the appropriate software (APK) and installing. All this was done without "rooting"the device BTW.
As for the Fire as an Indigo controller? It works great, the resolution and brightness are good for indoors with a decent viewing angle. The speed seems fine with no perceptible delay compared to faster tablets. All-in-all, it's probably the best $50 (or less if you catch a sale) Indigo Interface available.
If there is any interest, I'll post specific install instructions for installing Google play a bit later.
EDIT: Here are the instructions I followed to install the Google Play store.
1) After unboxing and powering on the Kindle, it did a forced upgrade to Fire OS 5.1.1, I let it do it's thing and then personalized it afterwards.
2) Enable developer mode: Settings --> Device Options --> Tap on the "Serial Number" field like 10 times in a row to enable developer mode (seriously)
3) Enable side-loading of apps: Settings --> Security --> Switch on "Apps from Unknown Sources"
4) In the Fire's web browser (Silk), go to: http://www.epubor.com/how-to-install-go ... -fire.html
I didn't follow the directions, they're for an older version and required rooting the device. Under step one you'll see 6 links to APKs that are linked to dropbox. #6 in that list is only needed if the Fire's launcher doesn't display the Google Play app. Mine did so I didn't install it, I only installed #1 - #5. For each I followed the following wash-rinse-repeat cycle:
1) Tap on the APK link which will take you to dropbox to download. Download it.
2) After the APK downloads, in silk tap on the menu button to the left of the URL bar (the button is 3 horizontal bars) and choose "Downloads"
3) Tap the just-downloaded APK to install, answer the appropriate security and "are you sure" questions.
4) Proceed to download the next APK
After installing APKs 1-5, Google play should be on your desktop. If not install the 6th one (ADWLauncher EX) and follow instructions specific to it at the bottom of the webpage. As I mentioned above, I didn't need it, the Google Play app was on my desktop with all of the other apps. Once it's there, you should be able to tap on it, and when it launches log into the store and download apps as with any other Android device.
I haven't tried anything other than DomoPad, because that's all I wanted on this device. The entire process should take ~15 minutes, hope it helps!!
Terry
Since the Fire doesn't come with Google Play installed, you have to do a few things first. I Googled for a bit and found a list of APKs to install (you'll need to enable developer mode and the ability to side-load apps first). After loading the appropriate supporting APKs and then the APK for the play store itself, I was able to search for, and install DomoPad without issue. On first launch I did get an error saying that DomoPad required Google something-or-other that wasn't installed, but it loaded and worked great after that. Wake-on-face-detection doesn't seem to work, but that's probably solved with finding the appropriate software (APK) and installing. All this was done without "rooting"the device BTW.
As for the Fire as an Indigo controller? It works great, the resolution and brightness are good for indoors with a decent viewing angle. The speed seems fine with no perceptible delay compared to faster tablets. All-in-all, it's probably the best $50 (or less if you catch a sale) Indigo Interface available.
If there is any interest, I'll post specific install instructions for installing Google play a bit later.
EDIT: Here are the instructions I followed to install the Google Play store.
1) After unboxing and powering on the Kindle, it did a forced upgrade to Fire OS 5.1.1, I let it do it's thing and then personalized it afterwards.
2) Enable developer mode: Settings --> Device Options --> Tap on the "Serial Number" field like 10 times in a row to enable developer mode (seriously)
3) Enable side-loading of apps: Settings --> Security --> Switch on "Apps from Unknown Sources"
4) In the Fire's web browser (Silk), go to: http://www.epubor.com/how-to-install-go ... -fire.html
I didn't follow the directions, they're for an older version and required rooting the device. Under step one you'll see 6 links to APKs that are linked to dropbox. #6 in that list is only needed if the Fire's launcher doesn't display the Google Play app. Mine did so I didn't install it, I only installed #1 - #5. For each I followed the following wash-rinse-repeat cycle:
1) Tap on the APK link which will take you to dropbox to download. Download it.
2) After the APK downloads, in silk tap on the menu button to the left of the URL bar (the button is 3 horizontal bars) and choose "Downloads"
3) Tap the just-downloaded APK to install, answer the appropriate security and "are you sure" questions.
4) Proceed to download the next APK
After installing APKs 1-5, Google play should be on your desktop. If not install the 6th one (ADWLauncher EX) and follow instructions specific to it at the bottom of the webpage. As I mentioned above, I didn't need it, the Google Play app was on my desktop with all of the other apps. Once it's there, you should be able to tap on it, and when it launches log into the store and download apps as with any other Android device.
I haven't tried anything other than DomoPad, because that's all I wanted on this device. The entire process should take ~15 minutes, hope it helps!!
Terry