Tried downloading an ebook through the Overdrive library lending interface onto a Kindle device, a service that became available about a month ago. Anticipating problems, I haven't been able to get to it till now. (If I'm trying something new that involves business, bureaucracy, or machinery, or especially any combination thereof, I assume a five-minute chore will take an entire afternoon. Cynical as this view is, it has often proven accurate.)
I accessed Overdrive via a desktop computer and put the book on a free Kindle app on an iPhone. The process is twofold, requiring signing in to Overdrive to choose the book and then signing in to Amazon to send the book to a Kindle device.
The whole process went surprisingly smoothly. At first it didn't look like it had worked, but I found the book under the app's "archived" items and from there loaded it onto the main list of the app's home page.
This solves the problem of Overdrive's refusal to support 3G versions of the iPhone operating system, as the books actually come from Amazon. Now they just need to vastly increase the range and number of available titles.
Technically, our ebooks can't be delivered over the 3G Kindle either so it's good that you have one with wifi.
ReplyDeleteBut the Kindle versions can, because Amazon is flexible about sending to their iPhone app. I had wifi off when I did this. The Overdrive part -- selecting the book -- and the next step -- going to Amazon and telling it to send the book to my phone I did on a desktop Mac.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Overdrive app, I could never put that on my phone at all, as it has always required a phone running the 4G software to even install it -- even though it was introduced back when 4G was relatively new and few people had it. (I've never upgraded the software because it doesn't play well with a 3G phone, and I can't afford to buy a new phone right now.)