Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

HOORAY! JW Library is now available for your Kindle Fire. I installed it on my first edition Fire and it runs just fine, except for KIT, as noted below. I am leaving the comments on sideloading, in case they might prove helpful to someone in the future. In the meantime, we can now enjoy this fine Bible study app that contains multiple translations, extensive footnotes and references, plus a plethora of additional helpful information. And there is the promise of a constantly expanding library that may include other languages in the future. Further, it is all for free and always will be! FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE: (the substance of my original comment) How to sideload JW Library. The procedure is not for the faint of heart nor the computer novice. It involves 3 steps: (1) Preparing your Kindle; (2) getting the needed files; and (3) completely installing the app. You also need some software tools: a large file share service (such as DropBox), a file explorer (such as ES File Explorer or PowerGrasp), and possibly a root explorer (such as Root Explorer). However, BE WARNED, you may mess things up on your Kindle, so please understand that you do this at your own risk! STEP 1: Prepare your Kindle. By default, Amazon turns off the ability to sideload apps. To turn it on, click on the "gear" symbol in the upper right of your screen to get "Settings", click on "More", and then scroll down to "Device". Scroll down to "Allow Installation of Applications From Unknown Sources" and turn it ON. STEP 2: Get the needed files. Another reviewer noted that you can use the "1 Mobile Market" app to do so. This is only partially correct, and it does have some "gotchas". When you install the "1 Mobile Market" app, it will try to update all your apps, including the built-in Amazon apps, such as the Kindle Reader. DO NOT ALLOW IT TO UPDATE BUILT-IN APPS! Also, "1 Mobile Market" can only install part of the app. It does give you the 2013 NWT, but not the other Bibles. A cleaner installation can be made by obtaining all of the files from a successful installation of JW Lib on another android device and then transferring the files to your Kindle Fire. (Please see note 2 below regarding one way to do this.) There are two files that are needed to install the complete JW Lib app. They are: "org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile-1.apk", and "main.59.org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile.obb". (Note: "59" is merely the current number of the OBB file as of the time of writing this review [18 Nov 2013]. It changes with each new release.) The "1 Mobile Market" app can only install the APK file, you have to install the OBB file. STEP 3: Completely install the app. As strange as it may seem, in this case you must install the OBB file BEFORE installing the APK file. (This applies to both new and upgraded installations.) You must create a directory (or folder) for the OBB file on your Kindle Fire and then move the OBB file to that directory. The directory for the OBB file is created as follows: Using a file explorer, navigate to the folder /sdcard/android/. (sdcard is a directory on your device and not an SD card.) Create a new folder caller "obb". Then in that folder create another new folder called "org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile". The OBB file must go here: /sdcard/Android/obb/org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile/. I found that I needed to download and place the OBB file (additional Bibles) in its proper directory (as described at the above link) and then shut down the device (by holding for 5 seconds the switch), restarting it and then installing JW Library. After the OBB file is installed, and you have restarted your device, you can either run the "1 Mobile Market" app, or run the APK file that you have placed in your "Download" directory. ADDITIONAL NOTES: 1. I learned that those with the first edition of Kindle Fire will have to forgo KIT. The browser for that device is not capable of displaying the Greek with the English just below it. 2. You can install an Android emulator on your PC and install and update JW Library on it. (This is how I get my files.) The program I use is called "BlueStacks". I use "Root Explorer" to find the APK file, and then using "Dropbox" I transfer both files to my PC. I hook up my Kindle Fire with a cable to my PC and create the OBB directory and place the OBB file there using Windows Explorer (this configuration sees the Fire as an external drive to your PC, which simplifies the process immeasurably). I then put the APK file in the "Download" directory, and then disconnect the Fire from my PC and shut down the Fire (by holding the switch for 5 seconds). After restarting the Kindle Fire, using ES File Explorer I go to the Download directory on my Kindle and double-click on the APK file to install it. And voila! It works (for me) every time! 3. There are two files that make up the complete JW Lib package. The APK file is the main program and also contains the 2013 Bible. OBB file contains the other Bibles, and I understand that in the future it will also contain other publications. (APK and OBB are file name extensions. APK stands for "Android application package", and an OBB file is an "Android Opaque Binary Blob File" and contains data.) 4. JW Library is on version 1.03 as of this writing. That means they are responding to users, but it also means that your app may become outdated. With each update, you will need to go through this whole process again. And if you used the "1 Mobile Market" app to install the program, it will automatically update the APK file and the OBB file will no longer work. (sigh) If I have discouraged you from attempting this, maybe this is a good thing . . . . . .