It is not surprising that some of the more popular tablets have also proven to be some of the most restrictive. Jailbreaking the iPad is a popular pastime, of course, and one of the reasons the Nook has sold so well is that it has been so readily rootable, changing it from a relatively restricted color e-reader to a full-fledged, fully-functional Android tablet. Barnes & Noble has been notably hands-off in response to the rooting—unlike Apple, it has not engaged in an arms race to prevent it.
And now it looks like Amazon is going to be following in the same footsteps. PC Magazine reports that, while Amazon will not be doing anything to help hackers root the fire (and presumably rooting will void the warranty just as with other such devices), it will not actively try to prevent them from rooting either. “It’s going to get rooted, and what you do after you root it is up to you,” said Jon Jenkins, director of Amazon’s Silk browser project.
Furthermore, the Fire will allow side-loading of apps from non-Amazon app stores through a USB connection, which is usually the main reason for rooting a tablet to begin with. (Will this include allowing installation of Google’s Android Market for buying directly from the tablet, I wonder?)
It remains to be seen just how easy it will actually be to root the Fire in the first place—it is not yet clear whether it has a locked bootloader—but it is very promising to hear Amazon will let rooters have their way. Combined with the $199 loss-leader price, this could make the Fire highly attractive to the tablet-hacking community.
(Found via our sister blog, Gadgetell.)
“most restrictive” ?? “most restrictive” to what ? hackers ? malware attacks ? This is a very strange use of the language imho.
I think he’s referring to the ecosystems each manufacturer makes its customers play inside. Whether or not the term is applicable is a matter of opinion. Personally, I don’t feel at all restricted by Apple’s ecosystem: the number and quality of apps available through the App Store is really quite good. I’ve contemplated jailbreaking it, but I haven’t seen anything compelling enough to pull me over the edge.
I rooted my Nook Color — both as a full Android root and a fairly open system (but with the Nook firmware in tact) — and can’t say I love the device. I think Android tablet apps, on the whole, are lackluster and games are especially awful. I’ve used it the most just recently: Netflix finally released its app to all devices.
I’m tempted to get one for this purpose myself but the small memory footprint ( 8GB ) might be an issue for something divorced from the Amazon cloud. But otherwise it’s an interesting tinker toy candidate.
It isn’t coming out until November ?