Software
Mobile Apps
personally tested
Amazon Kindle
eBook Reader
- Introduction
- Developer
- Purchase Date
- Purchase Price
- Rating
- System Requirements
- Languages
- Support
- Features
- Why use Amazon Kindle?
- What is a Public-Publisher?
- And what is a Self-Publisher?
- Amazon as Self-Publisher
- Self-published as Kindle Edition
- You have no chance – use it!
- No other Choice than Kindle (App)
- Pros
- Cons
- Conclusion
- Alternatives
- Text auf Deutsch
Read Books as Kindle Editions on your Smartphone
Whether you prefer paper books or not – electronic books have their reason to exist and at the latest after reading through this detailed article you will agree with me …
Developer
Amazon
Date of Purchase/Installation
about 2010: for my Samsung Galaxy S
15.08.2016: for my Apple iPhone 6s Plus
16.03.2023: for my Google Pixel 7 Pro
Purchase Price
For free. Includes self-promotion and tracking to offer customers more books of their taste within this app.
Rating (1–5 Stars)
***** 5 Stars
System Requirements
Android OS version 9.0 or higher. Smartphones & Tablets.
iOS 14.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Languages
German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, tradit. Chinese, simplified Chinese
Support
In the Amazon online shop, the Kindle settings can be managed via the menu “My account/My content and devices”.
Features
- eBooks (including those with narration) that you have purchased from Amazon are automatically displayed in your app
- Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime members can select and download eBooks directly in the app
- free reading sample for each eBook
- Magazines, newspapers, graphic novels and textbooks with high-resolution colour images
- customisable reading experience with your desired font, font size and much more
- comfortable reading day and night with adjustable screen brightness and page colour
- unique functions such as X-Ray, Whispersync, PageFlip, Print Replica, index cards and much more
- Possibility to set and share markers in the page
- Options for bold font and text size
Why use Amazon Kindle?
Even if you prefer paper books or don't like e-books: many good books are only available as e-books and at Amazon only. 
Why? That is what I would like to explain to you …
Background: the publishers have been saving themselves for years and usually only promote one bestselling author … and the rest go along for the ride.
Even good proofreaders are being cut back and the few that are used seem to be under a lot of pressure. Otherwise I cannot explain to myself that often botch-ups are delivered!
Under these conditions, new authors have no chance at all of being signed by an audience publisher.
What is an Public-Publisher?
Due to the situation for new authors described above, self-publishing houses became more and more popular and were increasingly popular. Audience publishers are the ones with the bestsellers, so they already have their audience.
And what is a Self-Publisher?
It is a printing company specialising in small series, which used to produce mainly doctoral theses and similar printed works for students and other private individuals, i.e. for the author himself.
Since it has become so difficult for many authors to publish with a general public publisher, self-publishing companies are booming. They can produce even the smallest editions at low cost and no author has to go into debt to have a basement full of unsold books when the book is unfortunately not a bestseller after all.
Amazon is also a Self-Publisher
Amazon has been offering authors the opportunity to offer their works in the shop for years. Only when an Amazon customer has placed a book by such an author in the shopping cart and payment has been initiated, the ordered book is actually printed and shipped. Amazon has automated this process so perfectly that the customer would not notice any difference to ordering a bestselling novel.
Self-published as Kindle Edition
Amazon has long since ceased to offer only small-scale book printing, but also produces e-books, in this case as Kindle Edition.
You have no Chance – use it!
So even unknown writers have a chance to make a name for themselves and are independent of the whims and funds of large publishing houses.
For us readers in search of good new stories there are real pearls among the self-publishers, e.g. Arno Endler (SciFi) and Eva Lirot (Thriller).
The science fiction short stories in the German computer magazine c't made me curious about more SciFi stories by Arno Endler.
No other Choice than Kindle (App)
Unfortunately, the above-mentioned authors did not find a public publisher who would duly honour their works.
So I had no other choice as Amazon shop to buy books by Arno Endler and Eva Lirot.
Since I had already bought books by Eva Lirot as Kindle edition and read the Kindle books in the browser on my notebook so far, I tried the Kindle app for iOS after buying my first iPhone and I liked it.
DigiDNA's device management software iMazing makes it easy to determine whether an app was made with Facebook's SDK.
After finding out that the Kindle app was developed with the Software Development Kit (SDK) of the US company Facebook, I changed my mind.
Facebook is truly not known as a protector of privacy. Their SDK for app development contains interfaces for monetising app users' data and habits (the business purpose of this SDK!).
Even if you have a current iPhone with OLED display, which saves a lot of energy in dark mode: dark mode is not really ergonomic for reading books (then computer workstations would still have monitors with green or amber fonts today)!
Pros
- space-saving creation of a personal library
- saves the purchase of a separate reading device (“Kindle”)
- Translations and definitions immediately available without leaving the page
- further advantages: see Features
Cons
- no access to your own books without smartphone, Kindle or internet
- Amazon can change books afterwards or revoke access (rare, but possible)
Conclusion
Highly recommended!
Originally, this app was developed using Facebook SDK, which I had found out with DigiDNA's excellent iMazing software (backup, management and forensics tool). Since then I avoided this app and looked for an alternative …
30.07.2021: I want to read the beginning of the story of the private investigator John Mayer (sci-fi author Arno Endler) again. To do this, I install the Kindle app again after a long time – on my spare device iPhone Xs.
I take the opportunity to use iMazing to check whether the Facebook SDK is still being used. This is no longer the case. Therefore, I give the Kindle app five stars and can use it again. 
Alternatives
Apple's own Service and App “Apple Books”
Please also read my review of this Kindle alternative.