#ANDROID LAUNCHER KINDLE FIRE HD ANDROID#
So instead of having to log in with your Google account like most Android devices, you have to log in with your Amazon account.Įven the lock screen is customized with Amazon content. It runs the Amazon Fire OS, which is really Android 9 with a highly customized launcher, lots of integrations with Amazon’s other services, and no Google Play services.
#ANDROID LAUNCHER KINDLE FIRE HD SOFTWARE#
The software is really where the Amazon Fire HD 8 differentiates itself from other inexpensive Android tablets. There’s a 2 megapixel camera on the back, too, but this is a tablet so don’t expect to use this for anything other than maybe showing something on a video call. The final edge is just smooth clean plastic. The opposite longer edge has a little plastic flap that you can open with a fingernail in order to reveal a MicroSD slot that you can use to add up to 1Tb of more storage space. There are no hidden gestures to discover and memorize (other than the top-edge gesture.)
There are less cryptic icons to memorize. This concept of making the user interface obvious to the user has huge advantages. Every app icon has a label, and the sections at the top are clearly identified. There are words written in the language you chose on first boot that clearly identify the functions of most of the elements on the screen. When you finally get to the Amazon Fire home screen, you’ll see that it is very well designed for easy navigation. There’s PLENTY of room to add the works “Back”, “Home”, and “Active Apps” to the navigation bar to clarify the navigation buttons for beginners (and reduce cognitive load required to memorize the functions.)
Something Amazon could do to increase the usability here would be to add text labels to the navigation buttons. This is one of the things Android does very poorly… and now that Google is switching to a wiener-shaped gesture bar, the new-user usability is even worse. Here’s a screen explaining the shapes in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
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