At the end of January, I wrote an article on the Overdrive overhaul, and how users weren't completely happy with the new interface. To follow up on that, I decided to try the Overdrive Media Console app and see how it fares as an e-reading app. My verdict? I want to like it. I really do. But I can't quite warm up to it. Why do I want to like it so much? Because it's an easy way to get library books on my Nexus 7. The more I use the Android Kindle app, the less I like it, so EPUB is a...

An interesting question popped up last month on Kindleboards. A mom wanted to set up FreeTime—the app included on Kindle Fire HD that allows parents to create a customized content experience—for her son on the Fire HD. A lot of his books were not purchased from Amazon, so when she sent them to the Fire, they were classified as "personal documents" and didn't show up under any of the FreeTime tabs. She converted the books to EPUB, side-loaded an EPUB reader and figured that would fix it. Nope. Sideloaded apps also don't show up on FreeTime. She called Amazon Customer Service, and...

A Kindle Fire-usable version of the OverDrive e-library app has now reached the Amazon app store. That could give the app’s Android version a nice boost—the Fire is essentially an Android machine turned into an Amazon cash register. Fire owners earlier had to go to the OverDrive site to download the app unofficially. But for me personally, the big news is optional all-text bolding in the OverDrive app for iPads, iPhones and Touches. So many library fans have their own wish lists of accessibility features, and full bolding led mine, since I cherish an extra-high-contrast view for reading e-books, even on LCD displays. Earlier in 2012 OverDrive obliged with optional...