Windows 8 eBook Reader And Music Player: OverDrive Media Console
OverDrive Media Console is a free eBook reader and music player app for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 devices which allows you to read eBooks and play music files of a wide range of formats. Supported formats include .epub, .pdf, .mp3, and a lot more. When you install and launch the app, you will be asked to sign in to your OverDrive account, but you can also skip this process and still enjoy the full functionality of the app. When a book has been added to the app, it will appear in the library screen of the app and you will be able to read it by clicking on its tile. The reader interface is very polished, and gives a feel of a true book via the page flipping effect and the background paper color. The best part is its all round performance factor, which means it allows you to play back media files on your device as well! The music player is basically intended for audiobooks, but it can be used fine to play back music files with ease!
OverDrive Media Console is available for free from the Windows App Store.
Main features of OverDrive Media Console for Windows 8:
When you install and launch the OverDrive Media Console app on your Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 device, you will be presented with an interface as can be seen in the below screenshot.
You can either choose to sign in to your OverDrive account, or you can click on the Do this later button and you will still be able to use all the features of this app. Either way, logged in or not, you will now be taken to the next screen of the app which is the library screen. Here, you can add your books to the library.
In the control bar at the bottom of the screen, you’ll be able to add your books via the Open button, and then by selecting the book that you wish to open. Once you have opened a book, you will be able to see it in your library as a tile, and you can click on this tile to open the book reader interface. When a book has been added to the library, you will see the below interface.
You can click on this tile, and when you do so, you will be taken to the next (reader) interface. The reader interface is very slick and smooth, and resembles the below screenshot.
You can swipe from the right side to left to flip the page, and right clicking will reveal the control bars at the top and the bottom of the screen. The control bars allow you to easily bookmark a page, or view the table of contents, etc.
You can change pages or sections (chapters) via buttons at the bottom, and you can also view the contents via the Contents button at the top. The contents page of the app looks like the below screenshot.
Inside the table of contents, you can click on any one of the content tiles to skip directly to that page. This is a pretty neat feature, and hence makes for a great way to skip to a particular page instead of having to swipe through all the pages. You can go back to the previous screen at any point of time by clicking on the back button at the top left corner of the screen. In the main screen of the app, you can also play back music files, by adding them the same way as you added the eBook files. The music playback is shown in the below screenshot.
This basically sums up the main features of the OverDrive Media Console app for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
You can also check out SimPl@y and VLC Media Player apps.
The verdict:
OverDrive Media Console is a great app to download and have on your device if you are looking for an app that allows you to easily read eBooks, play music etc. on your device. The app is available for free from the Windows App Store, and makes for a truly great companion when you need to read books, listen to music or play back some audiobooks.
I rate it a 4 out of 5!