What Apps Are Available On Fire Tablet

You would think we would all know how to close apps by now but sometimes different systems do things in different ways. Sometimes it's good to have a quick refresher on how a specific device behaves.

Today, I'm going to cover managing and closing apps on the Amazon Fire tablet.

Apps on the Amazon Fire Tablet

Apps are the secret sauce that makes tablets and smartphones more useful. They build on those installed by the vendor to offer everything from security to games and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Some will be offered by established companies while others will be released by amateur developers. Each does something a little different or in a slightly different way.

The Amazon Fire uses a modified version of Android called Fire OS. While not very different, it certainly looks it. The advantage is that if you know how to work an Android device, you will likely be able to work an Amazon Fire. If you can use the Google Play Store to load apps, you will be able to do the same with the Amazon Appstore.

Amazon Fire OS

The main difference, aside from the look is that the Amazon Fire OS doesn't not use the Google Play Store but its own Amazon App Store. The reason the Amazon Fire is so cheap is because it is used as a loss-leader to bring you into the Amazon ecosystem. By making the Fire cheap, more people will buy them. The more there are out there, the more likely you are to buy an app, a book, a movie or another digital product from Amazon. It is there that they make their money.

Manage and Close Apps on Kindle Fire

To check out the apps on Amazon Fire, turn on your Amazon Fire and navigate around the home screen. Most installed apps will have an icon here so you can quickly access it. Have a look around and see what you have.

To launch an app, tap the icon. It should open and begin working right away.
To delete an app, tap and hold the icon. Select Remove from Device when it appears and confirm your choice.
To close apps, select the square icon in the bottom of the screen to show all open apps. Select the X in the top right of each one to close.

Installing New Apps onto the Amazon Fire Tablet

To install a new app onto your Amazon Fire, you use the Amazon Appstore. This is the official place to get new apps. It isn't the only place though but I'll cover that in a minute. Some versions of the Kindle Fire will already have this installed, others do not for some reason.

If your Fire doesn't have it installed, here is how to get it.

Select Settings on your Amazon Fire.
Now, select Security and enable Unknown sources by putting a check in the box.
Open the browser and navigate to http://www.amazon.com/getappstore.
Swipe down from the top of the screen and select the download to install.
Agree to the T&Cs and allow installation.
Browse to the app store once installed.

Even though any app you install from Amazon Appstore is authorized, you still need to enable Unknown sources from the settings. If you don't do this, some apps won't work properly and may cause issues.

Force Close Apps on the Amazon Fire Tablet

So you know to use the square icon at the bottom of the screen to bring up all open apps and to tap the white 'X' in the top right of each to close. But what if they won't close or you think there are more apps running than are shown? Open apps can slow your Kindle Fire down and drain the battery so ideally you only want the ones you need running.

Select Settings from the Amazon Fire home screen.
Then, select Applications > Manage All Applications.
Next, select Running Applications.
Select an app to close and select Force Stop.
Select OK when prompted.
Rinse and repeat for all apps you want to close.

Depending on your version of Amazon Fire, the menu options may be slightly different. The above relates to newer devices as that is what I have. You may need to just swipe down on the home page and select Applications from the drop down menu. You can filter by Running Applications from there and force stop them.

Adding Google Play Store to the Amazon Fire Tablet

I mentioned earlier that you can load the Google Play Store onto your Amazon Fire to fully unlock its potential. Check out this article to find out how to do it.

I highly rate the Amazon Fire tablet. For the money, there are few better tablets out there and once you get the hand of things, it's a breeze to use. I hope this guide has helped you make the most of your Amazon Fire tablet!