Adding Freely Available eBooks to your BlackBerry

Adding freely available Mobi-formatted eBooks to your BlackBerry device in 5 easy steps:

For the impatient…

1. Go to Tor.com and sign-up!
2. Install Mobipocket Reader Desktop (6.2).
3. Click on .pcr files you receive from Tor.com to add them to the desktop app.
   
4. With your browser on your BlackBerry, visit http://m.mobipocket.com/ to install the Mobipocket Reader on your BlackBerry.
5. Connect your BlackBerry to your PC via a USB cable and follow the steps to add the eBooks on your PC to your BlackBerry.

…a more detailed explanation…

Previously, I mentioned that Tor.com is providing free eBooks. You just need to go to Tor.com to sign-up.

Once you do, you’ll receive news, commentary, art (images for your PC desktop) and best of all new eBooks.  A new eBook is sent weekly and is available in PDF, HTML and MOBI (.pcr) formats.

Mobipocket.com provides an eBook reader (for .pcr formats) for your PC and your PDA and Smartphone devices (Palm, Windows mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, or PocketPC).

Download and install Mobipocket Reader Desktop (6.2)

Click on a .pcr (mobipocket formatted eBook file) that you’ve received that you saved in a folder on your PC to add it to the Mobipocket Reader application (aka the “shelf”).

You can read your mobipocket formatted eBook on your PC, which is much more natural and efficient than trying to page through a PDF file or scroll through an HTML version of the eBook. Of course, copying the document to a mobile device provides much more portability.

You can install the mobipocket reader from your BlackBerry device by entering http://m.mobipocket.com/ in the web browser of your Blackberry and following the instructions.

Connecting a PDA/Smartphone device to my PC, I found the Mobipocket Reader Desktop (6.2) became a good tool for copying and managing eBooks on a PDA/Smartphone device. Connecting a BlackBerry 8700 via the USB cable, my Windows XP system with Mobipocket Reader Desktop (6.2) immediately recognized the BlackBerry and asked me if I wanted to copy the entire contents of my Mobi eBook-shelf to the BlackBerry. Choosing cancel, I was able to go to the main screen and right-click on individual titles, which I wanted to upload to a BlackBerry (as storage space on the BlackBerry may be a concern).

After that, there’s options and preferences that can be set in the Mobipocket Reader on the BlackBerry to change the font type and size. Adjusting screen brightness and contrast might be warranted depending on how much reading you may want to do and your preferences.

Anyway, whether you’re between meetings or in a really boring meeting, having a great SciFi eBook to read on your BlackBerry might be handy to have.