Overdrive purchased Australian company Booki.sh last March that specialized in browser based e-reading. Things have been rather quiet on Overdrives plans to incorporate HTML5 and the reading of eBooks in major web browsers until now. The company announced that they will be showing off their new HTML5 reading app at Book Expo America.
Overdrive currently has around 800,000 books available for libraries to purchase and offer digitally for their patrons to borrow. In the past you had to rely on their official apps for iOS, Android and Blackberry to read the books on your tablet or mobile device. The browser based HTML5 solution is easier for customers because all you need is an internet browser to read the books and makes the entire process easier.
Cloud Reading has really taken off in the last year with Amazon and Kobo both offering browser based solutions. Not only can you both buy and read books, but there is a ton of flexibility in augmenting your reading experience. You can change the margins, line-spacing, test justification and fonts.
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.
