How To Use Kindle Fire As Drawing Tablet

Get More Out of Your Kindle Fire Tablet: Five Tips

5 months afterwards Amazon debuted its $200 "game-changing" tablet, the Kindle Fire is feeling more like a McDonald's hamburger next to Apple tree's prime number-rib, third-generation iPad.

But information technology doesn't have to be that fashion. Since PCWorld's starting time roundup of recommended Kindle Fire apps, a column of new apps, tips, and hacks that breathe new life into the tablet have surfaced.

Now you can tweak the user interface, no rooting required. You can likewise view full desktop versions of websites, instead of the default–and minimalist–mobile versions that the Kindle Fire unremarkably delivers. And you lot can add together several gigabytes' worth of music to your device without hogging valuable storage.

Here are five tips to rev up your Kindle Fire and put a bit of that tablet swagger dorsum into your investment.

View Total Websites, Non the Unsightly Mobile Versions

The mobile version of Facebook is fine when y'all're on your iPhone or Android handset, just the stripped-down version seems inadequate on the Kindle Fire. Other badly stripped-downwards sites include CNN, ESPN, and Gmail. For me, the Kindle Fire has more than than enough screen real estate to support full websites.

To configure the browser to serve up the full desktop versions of websites, open up the Kindle Burn down Browser app, go to the lesser of the screen and enter the browser settings, and choose Desktop or mobile view. Select the Desktop: Optimize for desktop view choice.

Get Apps Amazon Doesn't Want Y'all to Take

Kindle Fire viewing the mobile GetJar app store.

Amazon'southward Kindle Fire app store is a far cry from the Google Play app store when it comes to selection. And good luck downloading apps from Play to your Kindle Fire–you can't, unless yous're prepared to do some serious tinkering. Pay a visit to GetJar, Merely Android, Opera'due south app store, or SlideMe on your Kindle Fire, however, and you can download and install hundreds of non-Amazon-approved apps.

To become started with these app stores, you must offset configure your Kindle Burn to be able to download and install apps from third-party app stores. To exercise this, go to Settings, Device and turn on Allow Installation of Applications. Afterward yous can start downloading smashing apps such as Grooveshark or Hd Dolphin Browser, both of which are unavailable from Amazon.

Add 5GB of Music Without Taking upwards 1MB or Spending a Dime

Amazon offers 5GB of free storage with its Amazon Cloud Histrion, which ways yous can upload a decent amount of music for streaming playback to your Kindle Burn without consuming any of the tablet's physical storage infinite. Songs you buy via Amazon MP3 don't count toward your 5GB limit, and you can buy more space starting at $20 for 20GB (upwardly to $1000 for 1000GB).

To admission the music you store on Amazon's Cloud Actor, only launch the Music app and select Cloud.

Add Your Own Music, Movies, and Documents

Using a Mini-USB cable, y'all can transfer movies, music, and documents from your desktop to your Kindle Fire. You volition need to familiarize yourself with the Kindle Burn's file-management system. For navigating folders on your Kindle Fire, I suggest the free file-navigating Android app AndroXplorer.

Documents: To put .pdf, .txt, and .people's republic of china documents on the Kindle Burn down, plug your tablet into your PC. Now open the Kindle Burn down folder on your desktop, discover the Documents folder within, and drag and drop the files to the folder. Side by side time you open the Docs app, they will be available. (You lot can also send files to your device via the dedicated email address listed in your Docs app.)

Video: You must beginning catechumen video files to a format that the Kindle Fire tin play, such as MPEG-4. I use the free transcoding program Any Video Converter, which does an first-class job. Afterwards you lot've converted your video files, dump the files into your Kindle Burn's Video binder. To relish them, navigate to the Video folder on your Kindle Fire using AndroXplorer, select a video, and tap to play.

Make sure that each video conforms to the size best suited for the Kindle Burn. The specs that worked all-time for me: MPEG-iv, a 624-past-252-pixel frame width, a 757-kbps data rate, and 24 frames per second (admittedly, not high-def).

Music: Simply elevate and drop MP3 tracks to the Kindle Burn down'southward Music binder while it's connected to your desktop. Next fourth dimension you open the Kindle Burn's Music app, they will be listed.

Revamp the Kindle Burn'south Ugly Interface With Go Launcher EX

1 of my biggest issues with Amazon'south forked version of the Android operating system is that the user interface isn't hands customizable. You might desire to consider installing the handy plan called Go Launcher EX, which allows you to customize your Kindle Fire user interface without having to root the device. Get Launcher is 1 of several launcher programs that allow you to customize the Kindle Fire in the aforementioned style you can trick out an Android phone or tablet with shortcuts, widgets, multiple screens of tablet icons, and personalized themes.

Once you install Go Launcher EX, familiarizing yourself with its workings takes a little time. The alter is dramatic, so information technology'due south important to know how to revert to Amazon's user interface if you need to.

First, enable third-party app installations by going to Settings, Device, and turning on Allow Installation of Applications. Now launch your Kindle Burn down browser and point information technology to the Go Launcher website. Download the newest version of Go Launcher EX.

Once Go Launcher is downloaded, tap the upper-left notification bar, and then tap the file to install. Now y'all'll accept the option of using Go Launcher EX as your default user interface. To add widgets and features, swipe up on your Kindle Burn down home screen, and you'll come across a link to the Go Shop, where you can add clocks, weather, and texting widgets, along with tablet themes.

The side by side fourth dimension you commencement your Kindle Fire, it will ask you to designate either the Kindle Fire interface or Go Launcher EX as your default launcher. Cull the latter. Your Kindle Fire bookshelf interface doesn't go away–instead, it becomes an app that you tin can cull to launch.

To revert to the familiar Kindle Burn interface, go to Settings, Applications. At present go to the top of the screen and filter by all applications. Scroll down and find Go Launcher EX, and select it. Within that card select clear default. Now, when you printing the abode push button, a dialog box will ask you whether to use Go Launcher EX or the Kindle Burn down launcher as the default. Choose the Kindle Burn down launcher to get the quondam look back.

Rekindling a Relationship

Honestly, I've been neglecting my Kindle Burn down ever since my honeymoon with the device ended about iii months subsequently I bought it. But with these handy tips, I've gotten a lot more than value out of my $200 investment–and you lot volition too.