One of the most common questions and concerns we get at Good e-Reader is if you read Kindle e-books on a non-Amazon branded device? The answer depends on what type of e-reader or tablet you might have.
Amazon uses e-book technology that is quite different from their competitors. The industry standard right now is EPUB, which is what Barnes and Noble, Kobo and virtually ever other e-reader on the market uses.
The Kindle format is distinctively Amazon and it has been upgraded and refined over the years. Amazon first started selling e-books using the MOBI format since 2005. In recent years the company has been heavily using the AZW format and Kindle Format 8 for enhanced e-books.
It is important to note that the Amazon e-book format is totally incompatible with most e-ink readers on the market. If you have a device that only runs EPUB or PDF, you are out of luck. The exception to this rule is if you own a handful of e-readers that have come out in the last twelve months. The Icarus Illumina HD second generation, Onyx Afterglow 2, Onyx BOOX T68 Lynx and the Energy Sistem PRO all run a vanilla version of Google Android. This allows you to install the Kindle e-reader app on them, so you can buy and read e-books.
If you own a tablet or smartphone, you can read Amazon Kindle e-books, provided you download one of their official apps. They currently support Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows and a myriad of others.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
