# Alternative to the Carousel? Mobile Desktop Premium



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Ran across this app:Mobile Desktop Premium Trial

You can use the trial for 3 days to decide if it works for you; the full app costs $5.99. The 'test drive' didn't really work well, but I got it for my HDX . . . . will share thoughts after I've had a chance to play. Reviews so far are pretty good, though there are only a handful.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

O.K. Played with this some this morning. And here are my thoughts. 

If you look for it in the app store on your Fire, you'll see three similar apps: Mobile Desktop for Kindle Fire, Mobile Desktop Premium, and Mobile Desktop Premium Trial.

MD for Kindle Fire costs $2.99 and has an average 3 Star review rating. Many folks complained that it seemed to work fine and then it just crashed and they lost everything.

The "Trial" is, apparently, the same as Desktop Premium. It gives you the use of it for 3 days at which time I presume it no longer works and if you want it to continue to use it you have to pony up for the full app at $5.99. The trial is a nice thing, 'cause that's a lot to spend for something you're not sure will work, especially as Amazon technically won't refund app purchases. (Though, if one calls them and explains why, you may be able to get a credit.)

I got the trial and best I can say at this point is, it works as advertised. Though, I thought I had purchased it last night via my computer and it was NOT in my cloud when I looked at my HDX this morning. So I had to go get it again. Not sure why that is. It did show as compatible with both my HDX and my 8.9HD (2012 model).

*It is NOT a replacement for the Fire's Carousel* and Home page, though the write up might lead one to believe that. It is an APP. When you launch the app you can sort your media into folders and that seems to work well. You can use a sort of desktop view -- not really like android, but not the carousel -- or a folder view. You can always hit the menu icon at the bottom/side of the screen and get back to the usual home page. So it's not an alternate launcher. More like an organizational tool.

In desktop view, I made two folders and put a few things in each. It was pretty intuitive. Then I switched to Folder view. It's not showing me the two folders I made . . . . just everything on my device all mixed up. You can sort by name or by recent but can't sort, in this view, apps separately from movies, books, etc. So that seems a bit weird. But I would likely use desktop view anyway.

There's a menu as well for editing folder names and settings and such. It has a link to "Free Kindle Books" which takes you to BookBlast so I'm guessing it's affiliated with them somehow. (Yes -- it's the same company. An aside: I think they also had a Book Collections App which really didn't work well and is no longer available. I'm thinking this maybe takes it's place?*)

You CAN open books you've put in folders via this app. . . . just did that and . . . .oh! here's a REAL PROBLEM. When you select a book, you get a message that first asks you what reader to use kindle reader or mobius reader (which I guess I have installed). THEN it gives you a warning:

*Attention*
The Amazon Kindle reader is unable to remember your lacation when accessed from a third-party App.

*Deal Breaker* for me. One of the things I like best about the Kindle line is being able to sync across devices. So, even though I don't read that often on my Fire, if I do, I want it to sync up so when I get back to my PW'13 it takes up where I left off. But, at least they warn you about it.

You're supposed to be able to change the background on the desktop -- can use one of the pictures you have on your device. I didn't try it but at least one of the reviews said that didn't really work well.

One other note; if you have the $2.99 version and want to upgrade to the $5.99 version, you have to pay full price again. There are several reviews on the higher priced version that comment on this and find it skeevy. Further, the critical reviews that explain what they don't like, have comments, presumably from the developer, arguing with them. Nobody really looks very good!

Bottom line: I can't recommend it. But for those of you who don't need to sync and really don't like the carousel, it works. If you sleep the Fire with the app open, it goes back to that view when you wake it up, after the swipe screen is out of the way of course. But I don't see that it does anything more than the simply swiping up on the home page. There, too, you can make groupings for icons for books or games or whatever -- I don't see that this app does anything more than that. Less, even, cause if you put book icons in a group on that page you can still sync. Most of the rave reviews really tout this feature -- apparently unaware that it already exists on the HDX and this year's HD7". (I'm not sure it was a feature on lat year's HD models.) Anyway, I'll be uninstalling the free trial.

*did a little more looking and it seems like this app is a combination of the $2.99 version of the mobile desktop and the book collections app. If you already have and are using both, there's not much need for this unless you want to spend $5.99 to get them both in one app -- wouldn't begin to be worth it to me.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm pretty sure this app came out before the collections ability was added to the newer Fires, 'cause I checked it out back then as a way to organize my apps. 

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I'm pretty sure this app came out before the collections ability was added to the newer Fires, 'cause I checked it out back then as a way to organize my apps.
> 
> Betsy


It looks like the $2.99 version came out in July -- so before the HDX. This $5.99 version was released just this past December, after the introduction of the HDX models. And, as I recall, they've had this grouping ability on the home page from the first. Even the cloud collections came out mid-December, I think. So I'm not really seeing where it adds ANYTHING to what the Fire already does.

Unless, as I said, you REALLY don't like the carousel. But, even then, it's only an app, not an alternate launcher.

And there's the deal breaker -- if you launch a book through the app it won't sync.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yeah, I think I checked out the $2.99 one.  And yes, the inability to sync location in my Kindle books was the deal killer for me with their Book Collections app, so for me, with collecitons already on the HDX, this doesn't add anything.

For those interested, it does show as compatible with the original Fire on my account.

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Yeah, I think I checked out the $2.99 one. And yes, the inability to sync location in my Kindle books was the deal killer for me with their Book Collections app, so for me, with collecitons already on the HDX, this doesn't add anything.
> 
> For those interested, it does show as compatible with the original Fire on my account.
> 
> Betsy


Yes . . . I should have mentioned . . . it shows as compatible with both my 7" HDX and my 8.9" HD (2012 model). Also, incidentally, my RAZR phone.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

You did mention it:



Ann in Arlington said:


> It did show as compatible with both my HDX and my 8.9HD (2012 model).


That's why I added the original Fire into the mix.



Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Gee!  I'm smarter than I thought.


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