Product News

Read OverDrive E-Books Now on the iPhone and Android

OverDrive recently released an update to the OverDrive apps for iPhone and Android, which adds support for e-books downloaded from the library. Now customers will be able to download both EPUB e-books and MP3 audiobooks directly to their iPhone, iPod touch, or Android phone/tablet. New users can search for “OverDrive Media Console” in the Apple App Store and Android Market, while current users will be alerted to update the existing OverDrive app on their devices.

OverDrive Media Console v2.0 for iPhone and Android provides two major enhancements that improve the end user experience. First, the apps now enable users to download and enjoy EPUB e-books on their devices (in addition to the existing ability to download MP3 audiobooks). The e-book reading experience includes userinspired features for bookmarking and adjusting brightness and font size. Additional features will be added as the apps develop, including highlighting, annotation, in-app text-to-speech, and more.

Second, both apps offer a built-in Get Books feature. If a library customer has already downloaded audiobooks from the library with a previous version of the app, the library will be displayed when he or she selects Get Books. With a single click, the user can reach the library’s site once again. If a customer is new to library downloads, he or she can quickly find their Virtual Branch website and save it for single-click access going forward. Once users find their library using Get Books feature, they can browse the Virtual Branch website on their device, check out a title with their library card, and wirelessly download
an EPUB e-book to the app.