Using Your Mobile Device
You can listen to an audio track or watch a video on your mobile device, such as a smartphone. This is great for when you find something you want to study later.
Wherever you see the “send to mobile” icon, you are able to obtain a "shortlink" to enable playback on your mobile device.
We provide many ways to send this shortlink to your device:
- We can send a shortlink as a text SMS message to your device.
- We can email a shortlink to a specific address which you can then pick up on your device
- You can enter a shortlink directly into your mobile device's web browser
- On supported devices, you can also have your device read a special barcode, or QR-Code, directly from your computer screen
Here's a little more information about each way to send a shortlink to your mobile device:
Text (SMS) Message
We can send a text message to your mobile phone. If your mobile phone is outside the USA, you must enter your mobile number in international format, e.g. a UK number might be +4471234123456 We support 416 mobile service carriers in 160 countries, but if you have any difficulties in receiving a text, get in touch with our technical support team and let us know who your carrier is.
We can email the link so that you can pick up the message later and follow the link.
Manual entry
We've made the shortlinks as easy as possible to enter by hand – we keep them as short as possible, and only ever use lower case alphabetic characters to keep it easy to type.
QR Codes
QR codes are a special kind of barcode which can contain a web address or other information. Increasingly, smartphones are capable of decoding these with their built in cameras. In many cases, you can often obtain an app for your smartphone to provide this facility.
Apple iPhone users should search the Apple App Store for 'QR code' to locate suitable apps. Similarly, users of Android-based devices should search the Android Market.
Once installed, simply start the app and point the camera at the barcode. It should automatically recognize it, and then take you to the page embedded in the barcode.
What is a shortlink?
The shortlinks are designed to be quick and easy to enter manually into a mobile device. They typically look like this: http://goasp.it/abcd. Mobile shortlinks allow you to listen even when outside of your institution network, allowing you to listen from your own home. Please note that shortlinks can be used for only 48 hours. After 48 hours have elapsed, you will be prompted to redirect to the original Web page. At this point, you will need to authenticate through your institution or library in order to regain access.
Bandwidth requirements
When listening to audio on a mobile device, you will need a 3G data connection or better for the best experience. For video, you will typically require Wi-Fi access to a broadband Internet connection.
Supported Devices
Streaming service is currently available for:
- Apple iPhone on 3G network or better
- Mobile Device with Android OS