Kindle Amazon alternatives

As the name implies, this is a Launcher application, in which anybody can plug into to provide new buttons and menus through extensions. Those buttons can run pretty much anything, and the backend is powerful enough to make menus dynamic, allowing developers to use KUAL as a configuration UI for their stuff! But the basic principle is: click a button to run stuff!

A number of hacks ship with a KUAL extension, which is why you’ll often see KUAL listed as a required dependency .

Moreover, it’s universal! It’ll run on (pretty much) anything, as long as it’s running FW >= 2.3! With a particular caveat on the KT2/KV/PW3, where some early firmware versions won’t let you run it… And a fun twist on the KOA/KT3/KOA2, as well as on FW 5.9.x in general, more on that later…

Duokan

it is another different sofwtware that installs side by side with Kindle system. It was packaged until 2019, no more development.

About Duokan

From mobileread:

Duokan download

Reddit: where to download Duokan
k4-xKindle_2014-06-12.36013.rtm check download md5sum cd0cd994a353596f203a6248c56c9add

Howto install Duokan:

Steps explained in Mobileread with no pictures but more accurate: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Duokan_2013_Installation

Explanation for an older Duokan firmware in arabic and english but works. https://aboaladahem.wordpress.com/page/2/

steps:

Go to the home screen, press the menu button, and select “Settings”. The version number is displayed at in the status bar at the bottom.
Connect the Kindle to the PC with the USB cable.
Unzip that archive, and copy the folder “DK_System” to the Kindle
Check your firmware version. Then, use either the folder “K4_4.0.0_to_4.0.1” or “K4_4.1.0_to_4.1.1”
Copy the directory “diagnostics_logs” and the files “data.tar.gz” and “ENABLE_DIAGS” from the subfolder to your Kindle
Unmount your Kindle drive (eject the drive on your PC) and disconnect the USB cable (for now)
Restart your Kindle 4: Go to home screen, press menu button, select “Settings”, press menu button, select “Restart” img-001
kindle will start in debug mode img-002
Your Kindle will reboot into the diagnostics mode.
with the 5 way button choose “D) Exit, Reboot or Disable Diags” img-003
now choose “D) Disable Diagnostics” img-004
then “Q) To continue”. You might need to repeat this step several times. img-005
After rebooting, your Kindle should allow you to chose between Duokan and Kindle mode. Pick Duokan mode by pressing the leftmost button on your Kindle 4.
The autoinstaller should start. When it doesn’t just press the left key several times and repeat the procedure img-006
Just wait for the installer to finish and you should see a screen like this: img-007
this should be installed img-008

Change language

Duokan 2013 will display menus in simplified Chinese by default. Here’s how you switch to your preferred language:

From the home screen, press the Menu button.
Click the last item on the list from the popup menu (ends with “设置”).
Press the Next Page > button to get to the second page.
Select the 语言 (language) option, and select your chosen language, such as English.
Press Home, and Duokan will now display in your chosen language.