Amazon Fire HD 10 - tips n tricks

[sracer]

With the holiday shopping season upon us we can bet that Amazon will be offering aggressive sales on their line of Fire tablets. Reports are out that all models will be going on sale, with the Fire HD 10 selling for $100. ($50 off)

I know many dismiss the Fire tablets as junk to give to kids, but there's quite a bit that these things can do with just a little tweaking... maybe some here already have one and think it is limited to its intended purpose... consuming Amazon goods and services.

Here are a few things that I use mine for that might give others some ideas... and maybe others will join in to share their ideas as well.


ADD SUPPORT FOR GOOGLE PLAY and GOOGLE SERVICES. I won't post the links here, but a simple google search will provide easy step-by-step guides to add Google Play and Services without hacking or rooting the Fire tablet. (basically tweak a built-in setting, download and install a few files, reboot)

BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD AND MOUSE SUPPORT. Out of the box, the Fire HD 10 supports external keyboards and mice. Here's a photo of my Fire HD 10 with a Motorola keyboard w/trackpoint. Note the mouse cursor (hard to see, but in the middle of the screen). When the mouse isn't used, the cursor disappears.



Here's a close-up. The mouse pointer is near the center of the screen. The app displayed is the web version of MS Excel. This is far more functional than the iOS and Android versions.




SCREEN CASTING/MIRRORING TO A CHROMECAST. Once Google Play and Services are added, the Fire HD 10 can cast or mirror its display to a chromecast.




EXTENDED DISPLAY FOR PRESENTATION MODE. When running a slideshow presentation like Google Slides, you can cast the presentation screen to the chromecast while having the presenter screen visible on the Fire HD 10 itself. The Fire also supports USB peripherals like my Targus presentation remote.



GAME EMULATORS and USB GAME CONTROLLERS. There are quite a few game emulators that work on the Fire HD 10. And there is a variety of game controllers that work with them.




STREAMING VIDEO SERVICES and LIVE TV. The vibrant screen of the HD 10 makes it great for watching video from any of the online streaming services as well as live TV.



If you have a Fire HD 10, what are you using it for?

 

[840quadra]

Thanks for sharing this. I am considering one as a cheap android based tablet, and would use or primary as an input device for checklists and documentation at work.

In most cases I don’t need much power, but the ability to cast is important for me. I’ll be keeping an eye on Black Friday deals for sure!

 

[mi7chy]

Metasploit Framework running on a $99 tablet.

Now I wonder how well it would run on the new Fire TV Stick 4K on a $30 (with trade in) to $50 budget.

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Trade-In/b?ie=UTF8&node=17869251011

Anyone interested in playing with Metaploit just install Termux app from Google or Amazon store or sideload from apkmirror.com then copy and paste each line to Termux terminal. 'unset LD_PRELOAD' line is specific to Amazon Fire HD 10 2017 tablet only for PostgreSQL to run so probably remove if you try on a non-Amazon device.

cd $HOME
pkg install wget
wget https://Auxilus.github.io/metasploit.sh
unset LD_PRELOAD
bash metasploit.sh

Get paid to play.

 

[sracer]

Amazon has the Fire HD 10 on sale for $100

Here's a few more images of the HD 10 in action....
REMOTE DESKTOP SUPPORT.
First, VMWare Horizon connecting to Windows 10


Next up, using Jump Desktop to connect to the iMac in my home office.

 

[SigEp265]

I love Jump Desktop, but the Android version is not as good as the iOS counterpart unfortunately.

 

[sracer]

CLASSIC GAME EMULATION.
I'm too lazy to capture some video and upload it to YouTube but.... here's the HD 10 playing Mupen64FX (Nintendo 64 emulator) playing Goldeneye. I'm using a Logitech F310 game controller with a USB OTG cable.

Performance is terrific! I've been playing classic emulators for Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, 32X (even Virtua Fighter 32X and Virtua Racing 32X), N64. Next, I'm going to try some of my 32XCD games and PSP games. This really is, "the little tablet that could". If I get some time, I'm going to create an extensive YouTube video (along the lines of Sean Ong's classic "Why I love my Surface RT").

 

[sracer]

Deal alert: Amazon is selling the Fire HD 10 again for $100.

 

[sracer]

FULL WPS OFFICE SUITE (included!)
In showcasing what additional things I'm doing with the Fire HD 10, I neglected to show some of the things that come right out-of-the-box.

Included at no extra charge is the full WPS Office Suite. This Android-based MS Office alternative is highly compatible with MS Office and actually offers more capabilities than MS Office for Android (or iOS). (no, that's not my check register, I just created a sample to show what a WPS spreadsheet can do )

 

[sracer]

Here's another tip... You can install the GBoard keyboard on the Fire HD 10 to use instead of the default fire keyboard.

 

[xraydoc]

Thanks for this. Thinking about one for myself.

 

[three]

Thanks for continually updating us. I've been wanting to play around with a cheap Android tablet, I think this would be a fun pickup.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Here's another tip... You can install the GBoard keyboard on the Fire HD 10 to use instead of the default fire keyboard.
View attachment 812779

I have swiftkey installed on my HD 8.

 

[sracer]

I have swiftkey installed on my HD 8.

That's good to know that it works on a Fire tablet. I love Swiftkey on my smartphone but I don't know how well it would work on a 10" tablet.

 

[sracer]

This little device continues to delight... I was able to mix some tracks for a throwback dance party on the Fire HD 10. With 128GB microSD card loaded with music, it sure beats hauling milk crates filled with 12" vinyl.

 

[spacebro]

I had the hd 10 before I got an iPad. I could not figure out how to make it cast to a tv screen. I even bought a fire stick, and it was not compatible to cast from the fire hd 10. I returned them both, have never before been more disappointed in a purchase as the fire hd 10. All I wanted it to do was run streaming apps and cast them to my tv and the amazon tablet failed hard.

 

[sracer]

I had the hd 10 before I got an iPad. I could not figure out how to make it cast to a tv screen. I even bought a fire stick, and it was not compatible to cast from the fire hd 10. I returned them both, have never before been more disappointed in a purchase as the fire hd 10. All I wanted it to do was run streaming apps and cast them to my tv and the amazon tablet failed hard.

Yes, it is very frustrating that the Fire tablets can't cast to the Fire TV. Back a few generations of the 10 it DID cast and Amazon subsequently removed that capability.

But after adding Google services and installing Google Home, I am able to cast to my chromecast.

 

[spacebro]

Yes, it is very frustrating that the Fire tablets can't cast to the Fire TV. Back a few generations of the 10 it DID cast and Amazon subsequently removed that capability.

But after adding Google services and installing Google Home, I am able to cast to my chromecast.

How did you get it to cast chrome cast? In all the apps that have the chrome cast icon, like youtube, it just isn't there when you run those apps on an amazon tablet. I'm glad it didn't work, because then I got an iPad which is able to cast and replace my whole MacBook.

 

[sracer]

How did you get it to cast chrome cast? In all the apps that have the chrome cast icon, like youtube, it just isn't there when you run those apps on an amazon tablet. I'm glad it didn't work, because then I got an iPad which is able to cast and replace my whole MacBook.

Once Google Play is installed on the Fire, I installed Google Home from the Play Store. Once THAT is installed, apps like YouTube, EarthCam, etc. display the cast icon. From there you can cast to a chromecast device.

I posted screenshots earlier in this thread of not only mirroring the Fire's screen to the chromecast, but also casting as a 2nd display for presentation apps like Google Slides and PowerPoint.

With the Fire HD 10's native support for mice, trackpads, game controllers, and near full support for USB peripherals (including hard drives, etc.) I'm able to do some things that are not possible on my iPad Pro.

 

[Shanghaichica]

How did you get it to cast chrome cast? In all the apps that have the chrome cast icon, like youtube, it just isn't there when you run those apps on an amazon tablet. I'm glad it didn't work, because then I got an iPad which is able to cast and replace my whole MacBook.

Did you install the playstore and google play services on it?

I have a fire HD 8 and I can cast to my chromecast.

 

[spacebro]

Did you install the playstore and google play services on it?

I have a fire HD 8 and I can cast to my chromecast.

I didn't know I could and didn't see any option to do that. I even contacted amazon support and they said you couldn't chrome cast and they confirmed that fire cast was also not supported.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I didn't know I could and didn't see any option to do that. I even contacted amazon support and they said you couldn't chrome cast and they confirmed that fire cast was also not supported.

You have to side load the google play store. This is not something officially supported by amazon.

 

[mi7chy]

Best deal to date at $99 with free custom Caseology case and 32GB microSD card.

https://www.hsn.com/products/amazon-fire-hd-10-32gb-alexa-enabled-tablet-wsd-card-an/8968731

 

[sracer]

Best deal to date at $99 with free custom Caseology case and 32GB microSD card.

https://www.hsn.com/products/amazon-fire-hd-10-32gb-alexa-enabled-tablet-wsd-card-an/8968731

Wow! That's a great find! That is an irresistible deal for anyone wanting one. With this package the thing is ready to go "out the gate".

 

[sracer]

Deal Alert! (for those with Amazon Prime memberships... or sign up for the free trial of AP)

 

[segfaultdotorg]

FYI - the HD 10 was updated recently and now supports USB-C charging (get with the program on all your new devices, Apple!) and has an octo-core processor. I believe it will be on sale for $99 on Black Friday, and I plan to order one then to replace my 2015 Fire 7. The Fire 7 is a decent tablet for media consumption, but it's extremely laggy when switching from one app to another, and the screen is a little too small to make typing comfortable. I'll use it along with the iPad mini 2 I already have.