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I've reviewed all of the android design documentation, but I am still a little confused on how I should setup my Photoshop file if I am making an app for just the Kindle Fire.

It's 1024x600 with 160 DPI. Should my new Photoshop fle mirror the resolution and DPI of the device?

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If you want your photoshop to match the pixels on the Kindle, then your PSD file should be 1024x600 pixels. DPI is a measurement of the pixel density on the device itself and has no real bearing on your PSD file.

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    Exactly. Ignore the density. Use the pixel count.
    – Alan Gilbertson
    Commented Oct 14, 2011 at 20:06
  • I have to disagree Alan; see my answer.
    – e100
    Commented Feb 20, 2012 at 17:39
  • I'd say that when designing for a touchscreen device, PPI is useful as it means you can use rulers (or as e100 suggests, printouts) to simulate physical size (163mm x 95mm) for testing that absolute element sizes make sense - in particular, that interactive elements are proddable with a finger.
    – user56reinstatemonica8
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 9:16
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My understanding of Kindle Fire is the screen size is 600 wide by 1024 Tall. However 20 pixels of the height will be used for navigational purposes. So the usable size of the screen is 600 by 1004. Patrick

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The Battery bar is an additional 40px. For the softkeys/nav bar, it's 60px open, and 20px when 'hidden'.

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Use the screen resoulotion, you'll know what it would look like and sometimes it might just crop instead of shrink if you do it too large.

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It's 160 PPI (pixels per inch) not DPI (printed dots per inch).

You might indeed want to set PPI - if you want to easily produce a print from Photoshop at the same physical size as your screen.

Note that this is rarely a good idea for web or on-screen design in general because screen resolution varies greatly. But given that you are designing for a single device, it may be useful.

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  • The catch is that I don't believe PSD actually used the term PPI but still used DPI. So, it can be a little confusing.
    – DA01
    Commented Feb 21, 2012 at 1:28
  • Where exactly does Photoshop get it wrong? Or are you saying it did in the past?
    – e100
    Commented Feb 21, 2012 at 8:36
  • maybe it's changed, but I'm not aware of a PPI setting anywhere in Photoshop. Is it a new feature? In the past, you had to set the DPI--even if you were only using it to scale the image on-screen. In the end, you really don't set a PPI for an image. PPI is really a measurement of your screen, itself--not the image on it.
    – DA01
    Commented Feb 21, 2012 at 15:06
  • It's possible it was once different, but check your File>New dialog and you'll see "pixels/inch". The case I outlined is unusual, but it's a valid counter-example to the idea that setting PPI is never useful.
    – e100
    Commented Feb 21, 2012 at 15:29
  • Ah, yes, they have changed it...AND FOR THE WORSE! That setting should actually be DPI as it's only really relative for print. It could be relative for the screen, if one happens to know their particular screen's PPI, but few of us do. Since you can't change the PPI of your screen via the image, it's still a bit of a red herring setting.
    – DA01
    Commented Feb 21, 2012 at 17:51

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