Why Choose Android / Amazon Fire tablets with VidaMounts?
Why choose Amazon Fire tablets for your digital signage setups?
Working on a new digital signage or interactive display project with a large number of screens, with the main focus being the lowest up front cost possible w. clean aesthetics? If so, then Amazon Fire tablets + VidaMounts are the answer!
Without a doubt, Amazon Fire tablets are perhaps the most cost effective option for getting a fully interactive touch screen when considering between the (3) major tablet Operating System (O/S) options - iOS, Android, and Windows. Why? In short, these tablets are only*:
HD10: $142.49
HD8: $85.49
7": $47.49
* - Pricing, with ads, as of Jul 30, 2020
...which are incredibly low price points given that they can run Android. Along with our complete line of on-wall slim VidaMount tablet enclosures for all (3) current Amazon Fire tablet models, they become an amazing affordable combo together - especially as a project becomes larger and has an even greater number of screens required. Often times, it's the ONLY acceptable option, since other tablet options are far greater in cost.
So, at this incredible price points - why isn't everyone selecting Amazon Fire tablets with their VidaMount tablet setups? We'll discuss the top 3 reasons why Amazon Fire tablets + mounts may not be the best choice - and how we can workaround these limitations - all in detail below:
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1. Missing Google Play Store
If you have an Amazon Fire tablet in hand - can you try searching for a common app (whether it's Zoom for Video Conferencing, Robin for Room Management, or even your favorite home automation app)? Unfortunately, you'll quickly discover that there is no Google Play store on the Amazon's Fire tablet - it's simply missing!
Does this mean that we can't download any of the apps we need? Thankfully - No! Google Play Store can be "manually installed" onto the Fire tablet - take a look at the recommended steps here: https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/07/11/install-play-store-amazon-fire-tablet/
For technically savvy DIYers, integrators, or companies that already have an exist IT team, this becomes a non-issue. However, for those unfamiliar with downloading and installing APKs manually - our recommendation is to seriously consider using a Samsung Galaxy Tab for your mount (something like the Tab E or Tab A is the next step up) - which does have the Google Play Store app already built-in, with no additional work required!
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2. No front physical home button
Another shortfall of the Amazon Fire tablet as a kiosk is the lack of a physical home button on the front of the tablet. This becomes a big deal if the device "falls asleep" - which causes the front touch screen to be non-functional as it is "turned off." Furthermore, unlike the newer Galaxy Tabs which are also home button-less, Fire tablets currently do not have any "tap to wake" functions. The only way to turn a Fire Tablet on is to hit the POWER button on the edge - which means that the front face plate of whatever the Amazon Fire tablet is mounted to (such as our on-wall Slim VidaMount) HAS to be removable - then the power button becomes accessible, so that the screen can be turned on.
Considering the inconvenience - this is a HUGE shortfall for the Fire tablet. However, there's always a workaround!
To prevent the screen from falling asleep in the first place - here is how to set the display to be “always on” 24/7 – with the Fire’s hidden settings!
1. Go to the SETTINGS area
2. Click on DEVICE OPTIONS
3. Triple-tap the SERIAL NUMBER option, towards the bottom of the screen. Keep tapping!
4. Click on the new DEVELOPER OPTIONS - which is now accessible.
5. Find the option labeled STAY AWAKE. Click on it to ENABLE.
Once this is set, the tablet will never go to “Sleep” while charging!
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Underpowered / limited hardware
The last limitation - and perhaps the most common dealbreaker - on the Amazon Fire family of tablets is its value-focused, yet underpowered hardware.
At its core, the Amazon Fire tablets are meant to be light-duty, media consumption devices.
Here are a few specifications compared between the 9th Gen Amazon Fire HD10 (2019) vs Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019):
- Description - Fire HD 10 - Samsung Tab A
- System chip - MediaTek - Samsung Exynos 7 7904
- Processor - Quad-core, 1500 MHz - Octa-core, 1800 MHz, ARM Cortex-A73 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit, 14 nm
- RAM - 2GB - 3GB
- Internal storage - 64GB - 128GB
Keep in mind that low-cost is top priority for Fire tablets, and as such, these specs aren't bad by any means - as they provide "good enough" performance. However, users looking for the fastest, most fluid navigation / browsing / usage experience as possible should consider more powerful tablets instead.
Even if we are relegated to using only Amazon Fire tablets for kiosks / digital displays due to budget reasons, keep in mind that - fortunately - most digital signage / display apps on the market are generally static, non-CPU/graphically intensive, and thus, typically do not require a powerful CPU/GPU to run properly. Thus, in many cases, the standard Amazon Fire tablets should be more than adequate for most needs.
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Looking to build a new digital signage or kiosk setup, but not quite sure if our VidaMounts / Amazon Fire tablet mounts would work well in your install? Feel free to give us a call at 844-4-KIOSKS / +1 516-499-5050, and any of our experts would be happy to discuss and help figure out if the Amazon Fire (or another tablet) would be right for you!
