Android Apps Unavailable On Amazon’s Kindle Fire

The thing about technical specification sheets is that they naturally do not mention what consumers miss by purchasing the device. Save for some eagle-eyed consumers and those with technological know-how, many consumers find what they are missing once they have already bought the device and played with it for some time.

The situation is no different for the Amazon Kindle Fire. On paper, it has pretty decent specifications. However, as Gizmodo notes, those who thoroughly enjoy Android apps will find several of these are unavailable for users of the tablet.

For instance, games like Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto III, Shoot the Zombirds, Osmos and Oscura are all reportedly missing from the list of apps that Kindle Fire users may download.

Adobe Photoshop Touch, a must-have paid app for designers who want to do some retouching while on the go, is also absent from the list of apps available for the Kindle Fire. Users, however, can opt to download the Photoshop Express, the free version, although such app is not nearly as powerful as Adobe Photoshop Touch.

Firefox fans will also not be able to download Firefox for Android and thus lose the chance to sync their bookmarks from their desktop browser with the mobile device. Granted, Kindle Fire’s native browser called Silk is good, but it is still better to have alternatives to allow users to choose which service is better for them.

Groupon, the popular deal-of-the-day service is likewise not available on the Kindle Fire. Its absence is said to be explained Amazon’s status as a stakeholder in LivingSocial, Groupon’s competitor.

Another app is Instagram. Its unavailability on the previous Kindle Fire was understandable since that tablet did not have a camera, and therefore could not allow users to use Instagram’s features.  Even now, however, the tablet still does not allow users to view Instagram feeds from other users of the the photo-sharing social network.

Lastly, and this is obvious, Google Apps like the Play Store, Youtube, Chrome, Gmail, Wallet, Earth, Calendar, Translate, Maps, and Drive may not be used by the Kindle Fire users.

All these considered, the Amazon Appstore does offer more books and music than Google Play does. Still, there is a workaround for this issue. Users of other Android devices may simply download the Kindle app and the Amazon MP3 app from Google Play to enjoy such content.

via gizmodo