Fire OS compatability

[jcjrogers]

I'm wanting to get a 7"-8" pad/tablet to use as a display for my Reef Angel controller and to also run my Bluefish app.  The controller part is easy because I just need a browser to access the cloud-based screens.  However, Bluefish requires iOS or Android.  The Amazon Fire looks decent and is fairly inexpensive but runs its own Fire OS, which is Android based but probably not 100% compatible with all Android apps.  Does anybody know if the Amazon Fire will work with Bluefish?

[moosubi]

I don't see anything about BlueFish having a local web page and don't know much about it, but I did do a quick root to my old Kindle to add the playstore and allow it to install apps if that helps at all...  It would be possible to get the app on a Kindle if you're willing to root it.

[Christopher Marks]

It's also possible to install the Google Play Store on your Kindle Fire tablet, and then install standard Android apps, no rooting required. The apps run along side the FireOS apps and the FireOS launcher seems them as regular apps. It does take some technical knowhow, but there are many guides available like this: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-get-google-play-on-a-kindle-fire-and-install-any-1790706649.

 

I do this personally with a Fire tablet that I keep by my stereo for streaming music. It's not officially supported by Amazon, and you may occasionally have to reinstall the latest versions to get it working again after Amazon releases system updates. For the price it's hard to beat, you just have to be willing to tinker with it a little bit.

[Simulated Fish]

Any cheap Android tablet will work, you can get one in Amazon, lol, for less then $50. On eBay you can get one for under $25. Even big box stores will have cheep wifi only tablets in store.

 

If you are just using it for a controller I wouldn't spend more on a higher end tablet. 

[jcjrogers]

Good stuff. I read the responses and did some more research and went ahead and got the Fire from Amazon for $50.  I'll go through the steps to load the Google Play store.  I also found a way to eliminate the timeouts so the screen will remain lit as long as it stays plugged in.