Amazon Kindle

Benchmark review. Giants are reviewed rarely, to show what the tools in the directory are measured against. This one is not listed in the directory, and it is an example, not a recommendation. Scores are our opinion on the six questions, based on public sources and dated October 2026.

Kindle makes buying and reading a book as easy as it can be, with a huge store, syncing across devices and a good reading experience, so Delivery is a 5. But coverage of Amazon's terms says you buy a licence to read Kindle books, not the books themselves, in formats and with copy protection built around Amazon's own apps and devices.

In February 2025 Amazon removed the option to download Kindle books to a computer and transfer them by USB, which had been the route many readers used to keep their own copies. Your shelf lasts as long as Amazon allows it to. Compare it with the ways of keeping your own books in the directory.

What stands out

• A huge store and smooth syncing across devices
• You buy a licence to read, not the book itself
• Amazon removed download-and-transfer by USB in February 2025