It is definitely annoying, however you can side-load the latest YouTube apk (you also need "Google Services" apk if you want to be able to log into your account

It is definitely annoying, however you can side-load the latest YouTube apk (you also need "Google Services" apk if you want to be able to log into your account), making the original Kindle Fire a pretty good YouTube machine. The YouTube app serves up the 720p stream even though the screen is slightly smaller, and it looks very nice and crisp. I disagree when it comes to reading books, though. My Kindle Paperwhite, and even the Kindle2 before that, are superior reading devices. The Fire is a decent video/games device, but the only reason I use it in preference to the Nexus7 is to get access to Amazon Prime streaming.