December 03, 2011, 8:55 AM — Want to install Google Maps on your brand-new, fresh-out-of-the-box Kindle Fire? You can't, because the stock Kindle Fire is limited to downloading apps from the Amazon Appstore. If you love to tinker with devices and improve them, however, you can follow our separate guide to rooting your Kindle Fire. Afterward, you can use your newfound superuser powers to install the Google Android Market on your device. It isn't a simple process, but it is pretty straightforward--and it's worth the time if you wish to turn your $200 Kindle Fire into a robust Android tablet.
Step 1: Download the GoogleServicesFramework.apk to allow your rooted Kindle Fire to access Google Services. The easiest way to do this is to download the entire Google Apps .apk package directly and then extract the GoogleServicesFramework.apk file from the GApps.rar archive using a free archive tool such as WinRAR.
Step 2: Download the latest version of the Vending.apk file, which is version 3.3.11 as of this writing. This is basically the Android Market application.
Step 3: Download an Android file-management app that you can use to modify read-write permissions on a rooted Android device. The simplest method is to grab the free File Expert from the Amazon Appstore for Android.
Step 4: Connect your Kindle Fire to your PC using a Micro-USB cable (as if you were rooting your Kindle Fire again) and transfer the downloaded .apk files to the Fire. Install File Expert, and then give it superuser permission by opening the app, tapping the Menu key, and navigating to the Settings menu. From there, open File Explorer settings and enable the Root Explorer option, which will let you modify app read-write permissions and thus allow the Android Market app to download and install apps to your Kindle Fire.
