Google's just starting to roll out its Android 4.1: Jelly Bean update to devices like the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus smartphones.
However, that hasn't stopped the open-source Android community – yes, the modders – from getting their hands on Jelly Bean code and porting the OS over to devices that Google likely didn't intend for Android to run on, like Amazon's competing Kindle Fire tablet.
That's right: So long as you've gone through the not-that-difficult process of rooting your Kindle Fire Tablet, which you can do with a handy app like Kindle Fire Utility, you'll be able to install a modified version of Jelly Bean directly onto your device.
The caveat? Doing so breaks the Kindle Fire's wireless capabilities temporarily, and you'll need to run a few commands using Android Development Bridge (adb) to restore Wi-Fi.
Get (Jelly) Beaned
The particular tweak in question is detailed on the ROM's official xda-developers page, in addition to a few other issues that will affect those looking for a fresh, working copy of Jelly Bean on their Kindle Fire tablet.
Since the ROM's in beta, warns developer "Hashcode," the Jelly Bean hack doesn't support hardware acceleration for video playback – in other words, no HD YouTube or Netflix for now, though an update to enable that much-enjoyed capability should be arriving "soon."
Installing the ROM itself is easy: Once you've rooted your device, you just have to download the Jelly Bean package to your Kindle Fire, boot into recovery, flash the device with the new ROM, wipe your data/cache within recovery, and reboot.
Why ROM?
Android improvements to Jelly Bean include speedier device boot times, updated notification settings for display (and hiding) messages from apps and your mobile OS, widgets that are easier to deploy onto lock screens and much more customizable, and the inherent smoothness of Google's "Project Butter" transformation for Android.
And, as always, be sure to back up your existing ROM before you flash Android 4.1 onto your device – it's the easiest way to go back to familiar territory if you don't like the taste of Google's Jelly Bean.
