So, I posted an android version of my app to their appstore last thanksgiving. Kindle Fire had just come out and I really wanted to get on the device.
They inform me that “there is no way to submit for the Fire - you just have to submit an android app and hope it gets approved for Fire”
Weird, I thought, no way for me to take special advantage of their new hardware, but however they want to shoot themselves in the foot, fine, I’ll wait.
I continued to inquire and got polite but clueless responses that there was no way to inquire about it and I would just have to wait and “cross my fingers”
1 year passes.
I start getting bug complaints that my app is crashing on the Kindle Fire HD. Apparently, some time over the past 12 months, my app was quietly approved for the Kindle Fire and started selling on it. Then, when the Kindle Fire HD came out, they simply rubber stamped it for that device too, not knowing if it would even run on the damn thing - which it doesn’t. Now I have to scramble to recompile and try and find a Kindle Fire HD so I can test for that device.
I never put a app on amazons store but I sent them an email about using my apps just on the kindles and this is what they told me.
Thank you for your assistance in ensuring your apps are compatible with Kindle Fire. As a general rule, we ask that you modify your existing app binary to be compatible with Kindle Fire rather than create a distinct version of your app for Kindle Fire. Our goals are to maintain a unified discovery experience for your app within Amazon and to ensure that customers who purchase your app on Kindle Fire will be able to enjoy it on other Android devices registered to their Amazon.com accounts.
However, if technical circumstances require you to create a distinct version of your app for Kindle Fire, you must indicate that your app is Kindle Fire-only when you submit your app. To do this, you should 1) ensure the title of the app includes “Kindle Fire Edition” in parentheses, e.g. My App (Kindle Fire Edition) AND 2) include in the test notes field that your app is created only for use on Kindle Fire.
If you are submitting a binary exclusively for Kindle Fire, make sure to indicate “Tablet” in the “Form Factor” field when you create a new App entry in the App Distribution Portal.
I got a similar email but it didn’t include paragraph #2 - at that time they were explicitly telling people not to do special versions for Kindle. You would think they would send out announcements to their developers when they make policy changes that might impact their own biggest hardware market.