Has anyone tried Amazon's Fire HD 8 Tablet for DJI Go or Litchi?

[GP-Mavic]

Has anyone tried Amazon's Fire HD 8 Tablet for DJI or Litchi? The price is right but apparently has no GPS. Does it really need one?
Thanks.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

Not recommended

Best Tablets/Phones for DJI GO | Phantom Help

 

[PT_Mavic]

Has anyone tried Amazon's Fire HD 8 Tablet for DJI or Litchi? The price is right but apparently has no GPS. Does it really need one?
Thanks.

Fire tablets are heavily-modified Android; reportedly there are a LOT of 'droid apps it can't run. I've never bothered even playing with one.

 

[BD0G]

You can use one if you completely overwrite the Amazon Android version. This will allow the install of DJI GO 4 . However these tablets are quite underpowered to handle the app and video downlink will be affected for sure.

Its a project to get it all up and running as well. Saving a few bucks does not really merit the lack in horsepower. If you want a nice learning experience and want to do this for fun then sure.

 

[Kbviper]

I recently purchased an Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet (16 Gb) that was on sale at amazon.ca for $79.99 Cdn. I normally fly with an iPad Air 2. I used the Fire 8 for about a week and was impressed by the screen quality and internet speed on wifi. Despite having a plastic back, it had a good feel. Not quite as solid as the iPad, but for a fraction of the price, it felt reasonably solid.

I followed the instructions at this site (3 Simple Steps to Install Google Play Store on Kindle Fire (in 3 Minutes) - Saint) to install Google Play, and then installed DJI Go 4. I flew this afternoon and the DJI software looked pretty much the same, and acted the same. I flew a ways out and there was no glitching of the video or any other problems - I was very impressed with how it performed and will at least use it as a backup.

The only difference I noted was that it did not show the last 4 photos I took in "Flight Records"as it does on the iPad, or give the number of photos I took. All of the other data was present, and all up loaded to Healthy Drones (AKA Airdata) with the exception of the photos, which obviously did not load on the Fire 8. I downloaded a number of other games and apps onto the Fire in the week or so before flying and they did not appear to affect the performance of DJI Go.

 

[CookieTheArch]

I'd read in other threads that a lack of GPS in the Fire could lead to issues. Input on that?

 

[StanTGM]

I use an iPad pro without GPS and I have no issues.

Only the follow me function does not work, since - to my understanding - it depends on GPS on the mobile device.

 

[Kbviper]

What he said^^^^^^^^^. The Fire 8 has worked great and the map comes up as well when I am flying from home and on my own wi-fi. The lack of GPS does not appear to have caused any issues.