Perhaps a dumb question, however can I test an Amazon deployment with a Google Nexus (not a Kindle device)???
I have apps in Google Play but wanted to also put them on Amazon, however I don’t have a Kindle device myself. However Amazon can be used by any Android devices to download apps right? Hence I should not have to buy a Kindle device to test? That is to make sure the basic amazon deployment does work that is, i.e. I acknowledge that ideally you would have multiple devices to test with…
Yes, you can. In fact, Amazon gives end-users the ability to install the Amazon app store on non-KindleFire device. Amazon’s instructions on how to do this can be found here…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000626391&ref_=amb_link_363093842_2
excellent - thanks Joshua
just filling in Amazon details for the app - re this section:
All non-Amazon Android devices based on my manifest
Kindle Fire (1st Gen)
Kindle Fire (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD 7 (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD 7 (3rd Gen)
Kindle Fire HDX 7 (3rd Gen)
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (3rd Gen)
Noting: I’ve just created this version by (a) Build for Android / Selected “Amazon”, and (b) only been able to test on a Nexus7.
Question: Should I “untick” all the Kindle Fire lines? Or is it 99% likely the app will behave the same on the Kindle Fire? Is it just another Android device support same versions of Android as others such as the Nexus7?
You should leave them checked if you want your app to be sold to Kindle users. Otherwise, unchecking that will likely tell Kindle users that the app is not compatible.
Amazon does a quick test of your app on Kindle devices, so it is likely that they will notify you of any issues that they see, but ultimately, if you are going to support and sell in the Amazon store, you probably should get a Kindle for testing. There are some slight differences between the Kindle tablets and other Android tablets.
I agree with thegdog. It’s in your best interest to support Kindle Fire devices when targeting the Amazon app store. Plus, the Amazon app reviewers tend to be a bit pickier than Apple’s app reviewers and might question why you are not supporting Amazon’s devices. You should at least pickup a cheap/used Kindle Fire device to test with.
The one thing to be aware of when targeting a Kindle Fire device is that the bottom navigation bar is overlaid on top of your app. This doesn’t happen with other Android tablets whose bottom bars force your app to be rendered above them. So, you’ll have to ensure that your apps content does not get covered at the bottom of the screen yourself. Kind of a pain, but that’s just how these devices work.
Here is a list of pixel height for the top and bottom status bars on various Kindle Fire devices. Note that the bottom navigation bar will be partially hidden if you call Corona’s display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar) function. Also, I don’t know what the pixel height are for the new Kindle Fire HDX devices. You’ll have to search for that information.
Kindle Fire (1st Generation):
Kindle Fire (2nd Generation):
Kindle Fire HD 7":
Kindle Fire HD 8.9":
You can find more information about Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices via the link below. This includes the model names for each device which you’ll need to query via our system.getInfo(“mode”) function.
thanks Joshua,
Is there a way in Corona therefore to request:
- Bottom Navigation Bar Height (if you’re on kindle), or if not directly what approach do people take in Corona to calculate it?
PS. Did submit with the URL link to GooglePlay and it got accepted. I then noted the category was incorrect, so retracted it/corrected the category then resubmitted. They picked it up the 2nd time and it go “crosses” in all the Kindle Fire deployment options, but not the non-kindle fire interestly enough.
There is no API to fetch the bottom navigation bar’s height and status. A native Android API does not exist for it either. Native Android developers typically hard code the handling themselves. Although, we may consider adding it in the future… which involves hard coding it on our side.
What would be the simplest approach for the moment do you think? Detect if it is a kindle fire (if possible) then just leave the bottom free, say using the largest 90 pixcel worst case?
Yes, you would have to detect what device model it is at runtime via system.getInfo(“model”) and then leave blank space at the bottom of the screen. If you look at the link I posted up above, it lists all of the Kindle Fire model names such as “KFOT”, “KFTT”, etc. The Corona Simulator can simulate some of these devices and provide these exact model names. However, the Corona Simulator does not support display the bottom status bar unfortunately. In that case, it’s best to test with a real device just in case.
Another approach which isn’t full proof is to letterbox your app via the “config.lua” and fill the letterbox area with some kind of graphics. But I say it’s not full proof because the letterbox area might not be large enough to extend outside of the bottom bar. I don’t really recommend this method, but it is the quicker/lazier approach.
Thanks. I’ll go with the first approach.
Yes, you can. In fact, Amazon gives end-users the ability to install the Amazon app store on non-KindleFire device. Amazon’s instructions on how to do this can be found here…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000626391&ref_=amb_link_363093842_2
excellent - thanks Joshua
just filling in Amazon details for the app - re this section:
All non-Amazon Android devices based on my manifest
Kindle Fire (1st Gen)
Kindle Fire (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD 7 (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD 7 (3rd Gen)
Kindle Fire HDX 7 (3rd Gen)
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (3rd Gen)
Noting: I’ve just created this version by (a) Build for Android / Selected “Amazon”, and (b) only been able to test on a Nexus7.
Question: Should I “untick” all the Kindle Fire lines? Or is it 99% likely the app will behave the same on the Kindle Fire? Is it just another Android device support same versions of Android as others such as the Nexus7?
You should leave them checked if you want your app to be sold to Kindle users. Otherwise, unchecking that will likely tell Kindle users that the app is not compatible.
Amazon does a quick test of your app on Kindle devices, so it is likely that they will notify you of any issues that they see, but ultimately, if you are going to support and sell in the Amazon store, you probably should get a Kindle for testing. There are some slight differences between the Kindle tablets and other Android tablets.
I agree with thegdog. It’s in your best interest to support Kindle Fire devices when targeting the Amazon app store. Plus, the Amazon app reviewers tend to be a bit pickier than Apple’s app reviewers and might question why you are not supporting Amazon’s devices. You should at least pickup a cheap/used Kindle Fire device to test with.
The one thing to be aware of when targeting a Kindle Fire device is that the bottom navigation bar is overlaid on top of your app. This doesn’t happen with other Android tablets whose bottom bars force your app to be rendered above them. So, you’ll have to ensure that your apps content does not get covered at the bottom of the screen yourself. Kind of a pain, but that’s just how these devices work.
Here is a list of pixel height for the top and bottom status bars on various Kindle Fire devices. Note that the bottom navigation bar will be partially hidden if you call Corona’s display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar) function. Also, I don’t know what the pixel height are for the new Kindle Fire HDX devices. You’ll have to search for that information.
Kindle Fire (1st Generation):
Kindle Fire (2nd Generation):
Kindle Fire HD 7":
Kindle Fire HD 8.9":
You can find more information about Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices via the link below. This includes the model names for each device which you’ll need to query via our system.getInfo(“mode”) function.
thanks Joshua,
Is there a way in Corona therefore to request:
- Bottom Navigation Bar Height (if you’re on kindle), or if not directly what approach do people take in Corona to calculate it?
PS. Did submit with the URL link to GooglePlay and it got accepted. I then noted the category was incorrect, so retracted it/corrected the category then resubmitted. They picked it up the 2nd time and it go “crosses” in all the Kindle Fire deployment options, but not the non-kindle fire interestly enough.
There is no API to fetch the bottom navigation bar’s height and status. A native Android API does not exist for it either. Native Android developers typically hard code the handling themselves. Although, we may consider adding it in the future… which involves hard coding it on our side.