We recently spotted the ‘Kindle Lite’ app in the Google Play Store and figured it is a compact version with full functionality. The Kindle Lite App lets you sync your Kindle data to your Android smartphone without taking much space.
The Kindle Lite app is available in the Early Access segment of the Play Store, which means it is not yet released. It is just 1.7MB in size and features a basic interface and all the necessary features you need on an e-reader app. However, being the lite version, the dictionary is not available in it. Here is all about the Kindle Lite app.
Download and Set up Kindle Lite
Kindle Lite is a light version of the Kindle Android app. It is not yet released so you can find it in the Early Access segment of the Google Play Store. The app is just 1.7MB in size, keeping in line with the ‘lite’ tag.
If you have an Amazon account logged in on your phone (Amazon app), the Kindle Lite app automatically detects it and confirms the setup. You can use any other account or create a new one. Once done, the app will sync your Kindle account data including your reading progress.
Interface and Functionality
The Kindle Lite app comes with a basic interface. You will find four tabs at the bottom, namely Home, Library, Store, and More. The Home Tab displays your recent books with a preview of your last read book on top. The Library tab is also similar but displays all books vertically. You can make purchases and check recommendations in the Store tab and check settings in the More tab.
Coming to functionality, the simple interface makes it easy to use the app. You can easily navigate through the books just like the Kindle e-reader. Kindle Lite is optimized for usage even with poor network connectivity. This means you can read your book even in 2G network.
Also, the data and storage settings let you keep a track of the data used and the space taken up by your books. it is a light app and borrows the essentials from the main application, while some of the main features are missing.
What’s missing?
Being a light app, Kindle Lite is a good application as it is just 1.7MB while the full-fledged Kindle app is 47MB. The Lite version misses out on Word Wise language development, light and dark theming, volume button controls and page curls.
However, these features can still be compromised but one feature we need the most is Dictionary. The Kindle Lite app does not come with an integrated dictionary. The app does feature WhisperSync but that cannot replace the dictionary.
Should you use Kindle Lite?
If you have the Amazon Kindle app installed already, the Kindle Lite won’t prove much useful. However, if your phone remains out of storage space and you like to keep your books handy, this app is a good option.
Since the app is not yet released, we cannot determine its final features. With a user interface similar to the main Kindle app, it is currently a good option for basic usage. The app is available in the Early Access section of Google Play Store and it may be prone to bugs and crashes. However, during our testing, we did not find any crashes in the app.