Kindle Fire Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean port now available

Amazon's Kindle Fire started a revolution -- the 7-inch tablet revolution -- and ever since, other tech giants have been trying to catch up. But with Apple and Google ready to release 7-inch tablets of their own to rival the Amazon Kindle Fire, the question among consumers remains why they'd ever buy an Amazon Kindle Fire.




In a somewhat perplexing move, Amazon chose not to give consumers the full version of the Android operating system, instead opting to build their own version of Android in which the company prohibits a large chunk of apps that are actually available on Android. With this locked-in system, the Kindle Fire remains largely constrained by the very company that made it. Instead, with a device such as Google's Nexus 7, users will be able to gain access to the full version of the Google Play store.In case you’d like to taste Jelly Bean on your Kindle Fire, you should know that an Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean port is already available for the Kindle Fire, courtesy of the smart folks at xda-developers.




We’re looking at a beta port so far, which means not everything will work as expected, but it’s still better than nothing. However, considering that the Kindle Fire can’t match the Nexus 7’s hardware, don’t be surprised if your Jelly Bean experience on Amazon’s tablet is not on par with what you’ve seen in videos and reviews.