Microsoft unveiled a fully functional e-book reader system into the Edge browser last year. Since then, they have released a series of development builds to insiders that bring new features to the reading experience. In this video you will learn how to sideload in your own ebooks into the Edge and some of the features it offers to enhance your reading experience.
Microsoft operates their own digital bookstore and sells them only to customers in the United States. These are the only books that show up in your library, samples and sideloaded content do not.
In order to sideload in your ebooks you have to associate the EPUB format with the Edge Browser. Simply click on the Windows button and type in the word “app” which brings up the “Apps and Features” menu. Next click on default apps and click on the text that says “Choose Default Apps by File Type,” then select EPUB and select the EDGE browser, and not Internet Explorer. Alternatively you could just right click on the book and select open with, and select Edge. You would do this if you already have a program that you regularly use to read ebooks.
In order to read an ebook on Edge, you simply have to click on any EPUB file and it will automatically open. Edge has a number of features such as two page spread, five font types, three different background colors and line spacing. If you click on a word you can highlight, make a note, bookmark or share. There is an optional vocabulary system that highlights nouns, verbs and adjectives. Cortana can be used to read books aloud and this includes any novels or books about Online Blackjack or other non-fiction related stuff.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.