eBooks have been heralded as the next big thing in publishing and after the success of the Sony Reader in its various forms, excitement was ripe for the Kindle. Now using Kindle for PC, it is possible to read Kindle ebooks on your computer regardless of whether or not your own a Kindle device.

The application synchronises with your online Kindle account so you can access your ebooks if you don’t have your Kindle with you. The program can also be used as an easy way to read through sample chapters before deciding whether or not to buy a particular book.

When reading books in the application, it is possible to create bookmarks and notes as well as highlight sections of interest, and these will be synchronised with your Kindle if you have one. On screen, reading is easy on the eye thanks to the ability to not only change text size but also its colour and to switch to full-screen mode.

A simple icon-based system is used to provide an overview of books in your library and books themselves, or more details about them are never more than a couple of clicks away. With easy access to Amazon’s online Kindle shop and automatic synchronisation with your Kindle, this is a program which every Kindle user should install, but it is also a great introduction to ebooks for non-Kindle owners.