After a very exciting Google I/O conference last week, there were a lot of new developments in the world of Android. I won't waste time rehashing what plenty of other blogs have already covered days ago; you can read a great summary of the newest Google toys here. But I will share the apps that were released for everyone to enjoy on their Kindles or other devices. This is a pretty massive upgrade: lots of new features in the existing Google apps, and even a brand new app!
Two notes in advance:
1) As Google adds more great features to their apps, the file size obviously increases. To illustrate, Google Plus was already a large app at 11MB before; it is now 17MB after the update to version 4.0. Google Play Music jumps from 5MB to just shy of 8MB. It adds up, so be mindful of your storage space.
2) I do not have a Kindle anymore, so I cannot confirm that the new version of Hangouts (which replaced Google Talk) will work on a Kindle Fire since Talk never was an installable app. I was able to install it on an old deactivated phone also running the same version of Android as a Kindle Fire, and Hangouts now has tablet support, so it should work. Fingers crossed! UPDATE: I got my hands on a Kindle Fire to try this out, and unfortunately it requires a Google system app that we are not able to sideload onto a Kindle, therefore making this app useless. Sad face. I removed it from the available apps.
GoogleApps
Google Earth, version 7.1.1.1703
Google Maps, version 6.14.4
Google Play Music, version 5.0.1026J.676641
Google Play Books, version 2.8.60
Google Plus, version 4.0.0.46852618
Google Translate, version 2.7
Hangouts (formerly Google Talk), version 1.0.1.678536 ~ UPDATE: Removed, doesn't work on Kindle :(
KindleFireApps
Dropbox, version 2.3.7
Firefox, version 21.0
Flash Player, version 11.1.115.54
GO Launcher EX, version 3.6
Visit the updated tutorial for links to both packages, links to the individual APK's, and more information.
