Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle app is the best approximation to using an actual Kindle Reader device; best of all, it is a free installation that can turn your smartphone or tablet into a powerful eBook reading platform. Even though the primary function of this app is to convince you to purchase eBooks from the massive Amazon catalog, there is a lot more you can do with it.

In essence, the Kindle app can be described as an e-reader. There are quite a few competing e-readers in the digital app marketplaces; some of them offer more bells and whistles, but Kindle always manages to come out on top for a couple of reasons. First of all, the straightforward user experience will appeal to all readers; once you open an eBook, the Kindle reading controls are highly intuitive. Second, Amazon does not force you to source your reading materials exclusively from its catalog; you can load your Kindle library with titles you downloaded elsewhere, and they may include comics, graphic novels, magazines, and single articles.

Visually speaking, the Kindle app puts the reading experience front and center. Amazon has done quite a bit of research into designing the right user interface, which effectively allows you to get lost in a book. The library view provides 3D visual effects that are quite fancy, but everything else that involves reading is clean and simple as it should be. The customization options are not as extensive as in other e-reader apps, but the available fonts and backgrounds are highly conducive to reading.

While reading, you can perform dictionary queries and pull up facts from Shelfari, a cloud service that provides additional information for context. One drawback of the Kindle app is that it requires you to enter credit card information even if you never purchase a single title from Amazon. The app permissions may also feel a little intrusive, but the overall Kindle reading experience is solid enough to overlook these slight annoyances.