My Kindle Fire Read online

  8. Tap Download to download the video for watching while you are not connected to Wi-Fi.

  9. While a video is playing, tap the center of the screen to display controls.

  10. Tap Play/Pause to pause playback and resume playback.

  11. Drag the slider to move to a specific point in time.

  12. Tap the skip back button to move backward 10 seconds.

  13. Drag the volume slider to adjust the volume.

  14. Tap the left side of the volume slider to mute audio.

  15. Tap the right side of the volume slider to change to full volume.

  16. Tap Back to return to the details screen for the video.

  Downloading Videos

  Videos that are in the cloud must be downloaded to your device if you want to play them when you are not connected to Wi-Fi.

  1. From your video library, tap Cloud.

  2. Tap and hold the video that you want to download.

  3. Tap Download to download the video to your device.

  4. A progress bar is displayed while the video downloads.

  5. When the movie has finished downloading, an icon appears on the video’s thumbnail.

  Removing a Downloaded Video

  After you’ve watched a video, you might want to remove it from your device so that it doesn’t take up space. If you own the video, you can download it again at any time.

  1. From your video library, tap Device to see videos on your device.

  2. Tap and hold the video you want to delete from your device.

  3. Tap Delete Download to delete the movie.

  * * *

  Deleted Video Still Appears

  Videos that you delete might still appear on your device until you take some action (such as switching to another view) that causes the video library to refresh.

  * * *

  Sideloading Videos

  Digital video comes in a huge assortment of formats, enough to make your head spin. The good news for you is that your Kindle Fire only supports two different formats; MP4 (or MPEG 4) and VP8. (You can pretty much ignore VP8 for now because almost no one uses it.) You might also hear MP4 video referred to as H.264 (pronounced “h dot two sixty-four”). H.264 is most often used to compress and decompress digital audio and video in MP4 format. Compression is necessary, because video files can take up a huge amount of space, and compression formats like MP4 help keep it all manageable.

  If you have video that you’d like to play on your Kindle Fire, you can easily convert it to an MP4 video using free software.

  Converting Videos for Kindle Fire

  As I said, before you can play a video on your Kindle Fire, you need to convert it to a suitable format. The easiest way to do this is to use Handbrake, a free application you can download from www.handbrake.fr.

  1. Start Handbrake.

  2. Open the Source menu and click Video File. Click OK on the warning dialog that appears.

  3. Select a video file you want to convert and click Open.

  4. Select a folder and enter a filename for the converted video.

  5. Select High Profile in the preset list.

  6. Select None in the Anamorphic drop-down.

  7. Change the Height to 600. (Handbrake automatically changes this number after you enter it based on your source video size.)

  * * *

  Widescreen Video

  By setting the height to 600, you ensure that widescreen video fills the entire screen on your Kindle Fire. If your source video isn’t widescreen, you don’t need to set the height.

  * * *

  8. Click Start to start the conversion process.

  * * *

  Conversion Time

  After the conversion percentage reaches 100%, Handbrake seems to stall for a while. This is normal. After Handbrake reports that the conversion is finished in the status bar, you can sideload the converted video to your Kindle.

  * * *

  Copying Video to Your Kindle Fire

  To sideload videos from your computer to your Kindle Fire, copy or paste them into the Kindle Fire’s Video folder.

  1. Connect your Kindle Fire to your computer using a micro-USB cable.

  2. Open the drive for your Kindle Fire.

  3. Copy your video into the Video folder.

  Watching Sideloaded Videos

  Sideloaded videos don’t actually show up in your Video library. Instead, you need to use the Gallery to watch them.

  1. From your Home screen, tap Apps.

  2. Tap Gallery to start the Gallery app.

  3. Tap your video to select it.

  4. Tap your video again to play it.

  Deleting Sideloaded Video

  To delete sideloaded videos, you can simply delete the files from your Kindle Fire’s Video folder. You can also delete them within the Gallery app.

  1. In Gallery, tap to select the video you want to delete.

  2. Tap the Menu icon.

  3. Tap Delete.

  4. Tap Confirm Delete.

  8. Installing and Using Apps

  In this chapter, you’ll learn how to find and install apps from Amazon’s Appstore for Android and you’ll learn how to manage and use those apps.

  • Your App Library

  • The Appstore for Android

  • Application Settings

  • Some Indispensable Apps

  Your Kindle Fire comes with 10 apps already installed and provides access to Amazon’s Appstore for Android so that you can get other apps. Apps that are available from the Appstore for Android on your Kindle Fire have been tested for compatibility with the Kindle Fire.

  The Appstore for Android contains a wide assortment of apps. You can find apps for cooking, education, health & fitness, reference apps, shopping apps, sports apps, and much more. Some of these apps are free, and some are not. Some of these apps are good apps, and some are not. Unfortunately, you can’t try an app before you buy it, so it’s a good idea to read the reviews on an app to decide if it’s worth the price.

  Your App Library

  Your app library contains applications that you have downloaded to your device as well as applications that you have purchased but not downloaded. When you purchase an app from the Appstore for Android, the app is added to your app library, but before you can use the app, you’ll need to download and install it.

  * * *

  Included Free Apps

  Amazon includes some free apps in your app library. These apps don’t come preinstalled on your Kindle Fire. You’ll see them when you tap the Cloud tab in your app library.

  * * *

  Browsing Your App Library

  All of your apps are available by browsing your app library.

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps.

  2. Tap Cloud to see all of the apps you’ve purchased, both on your device and in the cloud.

  3. Tap Device to see only those apps that are installed on your device.

  4. Tap By Recent to sort your apps by when they were added to your library.

  5. Tap By Title to sort your apps by title.

  6. Scroll to see more apps.

  7. Tap the Search icon to search your app library.

  Installing a Purchased App

  Apps that you’ve purchased but not yet installed display a download arrow icon in your app library.

  1. Tap the app that you would like to install.

  2. Tap Install to install the app.

  3. Wait for your app to download and install.

  4. Tap Open to open the app or tap it from your app library.

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Installing Apps from Unknown Sources

  Your Kindle Fire provides the ability to install third-party apps from sources other than the Appstore for Android. However, I advise against doing so for a couple of reasons. First of all, many of the apps I tested crashed my Kindle Fire or caused unpredictable behavior. Secondly, Android apps are a common source of Android viruses, and because the Kindle Fire is direc
tly tied to your Amazon account, the risk of installing apps from unknown sources is simply too great to ignore.

  * * *

  Installing Multiple Apps at Once

  If you have many apps to install, you can easily install several at the same time.

  1. From your app library, tap Store.

  2. Tap the Menu icon.

  3. Tap My Apps.

  4. Tap Install next to one or more apps to queue them for download and install. You can queue up to five installs.

  * * *

  Cannot Cancel Queued Downloads

  You cannot cancel the installation of an app that has been queued for download and install. If you queue an application by mistake, you can uninstall it as described later in this chapter in the section “Uninstalling an App.”

  * * *

  Adding an App to Favorites

  You can add an app to your Favorites shelf for easier access. You’ll find more information on using and organizing your Favorites in “The Home Screen” section of Chapter 1, “Getting Started with the Kindle Fire.”

  1. Tap Device to see only those apps that you’ve installed.

  2. Tap and hold the app that you want to add to Favorites.

  3. Tap Add to Favorites.

  Uninstalling an App

  Uninstalling an app removes it from your device. You can reinstall the app at a later time if you want without having to pay for it again.

  1. Tap Device to see only those apps that you’ve installed.

  2. Tap and hold the app that you want to uninstall.

  3. Tap Remove from Device to uninstall the app.

  4. Tap OK to confirm.

  5. Tap OK when informed that the app has been uninstalled.

  * * *

  Cannot Uninstall Preinstalled Apps

  Audible, Contacts, Email, Facebook, Gallery, Help & Feedback, IMDb, Pulse, Quickoffice, and Shop are all preinstalled apps, and you cannot uninstall them from your Kindle Fire.

  * * *

  Updating an Application

  When an update is available for an application, you can install the update from My Apps.

  1. From your app library, tap Store.

  2. Tap the Menu icon.

  3. Tap My Apps.

  4. Tap Update Available.

  5. Tap Update to install the update.

  The Appstore

  You can purchase new apps for your Kindle Fire in the Appstore. When you browse the store from your Kindle Fire, all of the apps listed in the store are compatible with your device.

  * * *

  Appstore for Android from Web Browser

  You can access the Appstore for Android on your computer using a web browser, but not all of the apps listed in the Web interface are compatible with your Kindle Fire. When you view an app via the Web interface, you’ll see a checkmark for your Kindle Fire, as shown here, if the app is compatible.

  * * *

  Browsing Apps

  The Appstore offers plenty of tools that make shopping for apps easier.

  1. Amazon offers a paid app for free every day. Tap to install the app.

  2. Scroll to select a category of app or to view recommended apps.

  3. Scroll to view more apps.

  Viewing and Purchasing Apps

  You can view details of an app before deciding to purchase an app.

  1. Tap an app that you are interested in.

  2. Tap Product Info to view general information about the app.

  3. Tap Photos to view screenshots of the app.

  * * *

  Zoom in on Screenshots

  Tap a screenshot to zoom in. You can then swipe through the screenshots.

  * * *

  4. Tap Reviews to read reviews.

  5. Tap Create Your Own Review to review the app.

  6. Scroll to read additional reviews.

  7. Tap Recommendations to see what others purchased after viewing the app.

  8. Tap Save to add the app to your Saved for Later list.

  9. Tap the price to purchase and install the app.

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Crashing Apps

  Apps are software, and like it or not, all software has bugs in it. (A software bug is a problem in the software’s programming code that causes it to behave in an unexpected way.) Some bugs will cause the app to behave strangely or in an unpredictable way. Other bugs are more serious and can crash an app making it stop without notice.

  If an app that you are using disappears and you are instantly returned to the Home screen, it means that the app crashed. Unlike on your laptop or desktop, you don’t see a message when an app crashes on your Kindle Fire. Instead, the app just disappears. When this happens, restart the app and all should be fine. However, if you still encounter problems after restarting, try clearing the app’s data. See “Clearing Application Data” later in this chapter to find out how to clear an app’s data.

  * * *

  Viewing Saved or Recently Viewed Apps

  You can view apps you’ve added to your Saved for Later list. You can also view apps that you’ve recently viewed.

  1. From the app store, tap the Menu icon.

  2. Tap More.

  3. Tap Saved for Later to view apps you’ve saved.

  4. Tap Recently Viewed to view a list of apps you’ve viewed recently.

  Viewing Subscriptions

  Some magazines are available for the Kindle Fire as apps instead of through the Newsstand. For example, the WIRED magazine and The New Yorker magazine both have apps for accessing their content. These magazines are typically offered as a free app, but in order to read the content, you must subscribe via the app. You can view the status and manage these subscriptions from the Appstore.

  1. From the Appstore, tap the Menu icon.

  2. Tap My Subscriptions.

  3. Tap a subscription to view details or manage the subscription.

  Changing a Subscription Period

  Most subscriptions offer the option of subscribing on a monthly or an annual basis. You can decide which period you’d prefer.

  1. While viewing subscription details, tap Change Subscription Period.