If there’s one thing you can say about the Android developer and hacker community, it’s that it moves incredibly fast.
Each time a new smartphone or tablet finds its way into the market, the modders and hackers get to work, trying to root the device. And now, just days two days after its release, the Amazon Kindle Fire has become the latest target.
Gaining root-level access gives users the ability not only to install applications from additional sources, but also it allows for the removal of the standard software. Potentially that means that developers and tech-savvy enthusiasts could load their own ROMs onto the $200 Kindle Fire, opening the door to Honeycomb and, possibly, Ice Cream Sandwich.
The Kindle Fire, however, is a different kind of beast. One of its selling points is that it has only one form factor, which means that all of the apps listed in the Amazon Appstore will work. So while rooting the device may not be worth the effort for casual buyers, this level of control is certainly enticing to hackers.
The Nook Color found itself in a similar situation early this year as the modding community clamored for the low-cost e-reader disguised as a tablet. For some users, the $250 device provided their first tastes of Honeycomb.
Things will continue to get more interesting this week once the Nook Tablet arrives and hackers start tearing into the successor.