Kindle Fire and Google Maps api

Question

We're developing an app with some map features, with

<uses-library android:name="com.google.android.maps" />

in the manifest. It runs well on a Xoom and a Galaxy Tab, as well as several phones. It also runs fine in one of the Google APIs emulators. When installing to the Kindle Fire, we get

[2011-12-20 16:25:04 - android] Installation error: INSTALL_FAILED_MISSING_SHARED_LIBRARY
[2011-12-20 16:25:04 - android] Please check logcat output for more details.
[2011-12-20 16:25:04 - android] Launch canceled!

with

E/PackageManager( 1385): Package <package> requires unavailable shared library com.google.android.maps; failing!
W/PackageManager( 1385): Package <package> couldn't be installed.
D/AndroidRuntime(12606): Shutting down VM

This post: https://stackoverflow.com/a/4509787/931277 confirms what I was starting to suspect, that the required api is really missing from the device.

Is there any way to include this library with an application, rather than relying on its inclusion in the Android build on the device?

Answer 1

Not only is there no "way to access this api", but what you are suggesting as the alternative ("hunting down a Google Maps apk and installing that onto the Fire") is not only a copyright violation but probably will not work, since the Google Maps app will not supply the system library that other apps would use.

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UPDATE based on edit:

Is there any way to include this library with an application, rather than relying on its inclusion in the Android build on the device?

No, sorry. Google licenses Google Maps (app and system library), and there are no distribution options outside of licensing it from Google for use with firmware.

You might consider OSMDroid and OpenStreetMap, or using WebView and the Web-based Google Maps.