[mono-android] Kindle Fire feedback...the process and use

[Neal Culiner]

Hi all,

 

I submitted my Android app to the Amazon Appstore as I think the Kindle Fire
is going to be a great product at much less cost than an Android tablet and
iPad.  I bought a Kindle Fire and I'm quite impressed, certainly not as nice
as an iPad but I enjoy it.  Some feedback on the process:

 

-I submitted my app to Amazon, surprisingly their image specs were a little
different than Google's Market Place so that took a little bit of work

-Pay attention to the FAQ area of the Amazon dev portal for restrictions on
"permissions" i.e. things that won't work on Kindle Fire and therefore won't
get your app approved

-The app approval process is more inline with Apple.  That really surprises
me because I don't see any reason Amazon would find the need to review and
approve an app that can be obtained via the Google Market.  Sure, there's
other things like Amazon integrations, but still, just makes it a more
painful process

-My app took about 3-4 business days to get approved

-I was surprised to see my app once approved did not show as an option
available for Kindle Fire.  Well, if you re-read (aka read) the e-mail of
your app approval it will show, in RED, that the Kindle Fire approval
process is separate.  About a week later my app showed available for Kindle
Fire but I did not get any additional e-mails that the approval was
complete. 

-You don't get e-mails at each stage like Apple's App Store which is a shame
so you have to check things periodically

-Lastly, and more importantly, my UI is a bit messed up on the Kindle Fire.
While I did buy a Kindle Fire I actually submitted the app as soon as a
customer brought the Kindle Fire to my attention as a platform to support.
Input fields aren't tall enough, they truncate the text, some dialogs don't
work the same, etc.  I haven't tried setting up a VM for the specs Amazon
provides so you can test in the Android Sim but I'll try that and of course
I'll use my Kindle Fire, if it's allowed, to be a test device and test
directly.

 

So that pretty much outlines some Kindle Fire experiences thus far.  I'm
going to be curious if the VM will show the same issues as running the app
on the KF, otherwise you may have to cough up $200 for another test device
in your arsenal.  

 

FYI

 

Neal Culiner

NC Software, Inc.

http://www.nc-software.com <http://www.nc-software.com/> 

 

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