Read ePub Books on Your BlackBerry with the Free OverDrive Media Console App

For awhile now I have been looking for an app to supplant the no longer developed MobiPocket reader on my BlackBerry. The latest contender is OverDrive Media Console app for BlackBerrys that promises to do that and more from their free application. OverDrive Media Console v2.1 adds support for both DRM-free and Adobe-DRM protected ePub eBooks on your BlackBerry. Alongside that it also gives you access to listen to MP3 audio books but that is not even the coolest feature.

My favorite feature is that you can actually download books from over 13,000 libraries worldwide and enjoy their ePub books and MP3 audiobooks. This means you can borrow best selling titles from the library. You simply use the apps “Get Books” feature to find a local library and find books and then check them out with a library card. There are also loads of other customizations and features available to end users.

The free eBook reader supports OS 4.5+ so most devices should be compatible. You can pick up OverDrive in the store or directly from OverDrive for free. Just make sure to download the latest v2.1 and let us know what you think of the app in the comments!

I asked OverDrive to suggest the ways to get ePub eBooks on your BlackBerry and this is what they provided as examples:

1. Use the “Get Books” feature to find a local library. That will guide you to a library’s mobile website in your browser.
   1. Popular Library eBooks and Audiobooks: There you can download from the main collection of EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks. eBooks and audiobooks from the library lend just like physical material, so if someone has a title you can join a waiting list. (There’s also a “Show Only Available Titles” checkbox for “Quick Search” so you can find titles available now.)
   2. Public Domain Library eBooks: You can also click on the “Additional eBooks” promo on the bottom of the library homepage, which takes you to a collection of 15,000 public domain books that are free and always available from the library.
   3. (Here’s a Help page with some additional information. You can find Adobe authorization information under the “Questions” tab: Link)
2. You can use the app to read free EPUB eBooks from third party sources like Feedbooks.com, ProjectGutenberg.com, and others.
   1. For those apps, you can start with your browser and hit the download button, which prompts you to open in OverDrive Media Console.
   2. The browser will prompt you to download any title to the SD card on the device. The title will be saved in the browser’s “Downloads” folder. When you click on the title, you can then open in OverDrive Media Console.