Comments on: Please recommend a portable device for listening to audio-books

Question: Please recommend a portable device for listening to audio-books

gregb1007 — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 18:21:22 -0800

Please recommend a portable device for listening to audio-books

I am looking for a portable device that would play audio books on the go. Kind of like a cd player, but one that would be able to play back MP3. Since an audio book takes up a few hundred megabytes of storage space, this device should be able to store about 500mb of MP3s.

Price is also an issue. I don't want to end up buying an audio player that costs 100s of dollars because I don't need gigabytes of space. Under a gig would be enough. That's why I am set against the Ipod. It's storage capacities are too roomy and the cost is that expensive.

Hopefully, you all can help me find the right portable audio player

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 18:42:26 -0800

The new iPod Shuffle holds 1GB and costs just $79.

By: bigmusic

bigmusic — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 18:58:11 -0800

I don't know that the shuffle is user friendly enough to navigate audiobooks. You really need a display and a bookmark feature to for audiobooks.

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:01:17 -0800

The Shuffle bookmarks audiobooks from the Apple Store and Audible.com, but not MP3s from other sources. A display would be nice, but if you're only loading 2 or 3 books it might not be vital...

And it's so little!

By: MadamM

MadamM — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:06:52 -0800

In itunes, you can set any mp3 to have it remember playback position (if that's what you mean by bookmarking; I'm not too familiar with audiobooks) by going to Get Info then Options.

By: trevyn

trevyn — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:12:14 -0800

nth-ing iPods. If you don't dig the shuffle, the low-end nano is only $149, and if that's still too rich for your blood, you can always pick up a used one off craigslist or eBay.

Really, the ease of use and seamlessness is worth it.

By: niles

niles — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:50:10 -0800

The SanDisk Sansa, at ~$70 for 1GB (comes in various sizes) and it has a screen. My mom had a different player, but hated the menu organization. My sister has recently bought the Sansa because of the price, so my mom checked it out and loved it. Both players came with an Audible trial, so it's definitely compatible.

By: spaceman_spiff

spaceman_spiff — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:50:17 -0800

For the poster's purpose, a mini might be better than a nano - maybe this is just my impression, as I haven't used either (just a standard ipod), but the mini seems a lot tougher than the nano.

By: jumble

jumble — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 19:59:39 -0800

I got to try a Creative MuVo at work (library) & it's good & pretty cheap, too. Complements my Shuffle, which is not fun at all for trying to listen to books.

That said, Consumer Reports has an article that might help.

By: bristolcat

bristolcat — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:20:03 -0800

Many libraries have free audiobook downloads through netlibrary.com. If this is what you are considering, I have heard that these particular downloads do not work with ipods. I have a Creative Zen for this purpose and love it, but I have not tried to bookmark. It does keep your place when you turn it on and off, however.

I'm sure it does bookmark, but I haven't taken the time to pull my car over and figure it out yet.

By: jaimev

jaimev — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:50:19 -0800

I was in your situation and got a refurbished iRiver IFP-899 (1 Gb) from Ebay. You could save some money and get a IFP-895 (512 Mb). It was the last of their AA powered flash players, so you don't have to worry about replacing some proprietary battery down the line. It has a display, FM radio, and recorder. Plus, it has a neat "study" mode, which allows you to quickly jump a user-defined number of seconds backwards or forwards in the track. This is a great feature for quickly rewinding an audio book or podcast to re-listen to a segment in case you missed it.

By: jdroth

jdroth — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:31:02 -0800

Another happy iPod audiobook listener here. If you're interested, I could probably even cut you a deal on a used iPod mini. (Seriously. If you're interested.)

By: markr

markr — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:49:12 -0800

For audiobooks I would second the Sandisk Sansa. You really want a screen in my opinion, and this gets you a screen for much less than a screened Ipod.

By: forallmankind

forallmankind — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:13:10 -0800

I used to use a Samsung YP-U1X for audiobooks. It's 512Mb, has a screen, it remembers where you were, you can just drag and drop files onto it without tooling around with iTunes, and - this was the clincher for me - it has a concealed USB connector which flips out and you just plug it in, so no tooling around with cables either. It's essentially a very cute thumbdrive that also plays audio files with a display. And they're cheap as chips on ebay. I've since moved onto using my phone for audiobooks (I've got the Sony Walkman one) but at the time it certainly did the trick. It also comes in 1Gb size.
Oh, and as per Mr Roth, I'll sell you mine too :-)

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:31:20 -0800

I'll also chime in for the iPods, although I admit to not using any non-Apple MP3 players since I use Macs for my home computers.

The trick I found is if you're ripping books-on-CD (from the library or wherever), use iTunes to concatenate all the tracks from each CD into one file. I listen to unabridged audiobooks only, and they generally break each CD (of which there can be 20) into 3 or 5 minute tracks. It's really obnoxious to have a million tracks cluttering up your iTunes music library.

If you rip to AAC, you should be able to get iTunes to remember your place in a file between plays, but I've been hit or miss with this feature. I don't mind though, because when I'm listening to an audiobook I generally only listen to that, until it's done. I don't alternate between book/music/book at all.

By: gregschoen

gregschoen — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 23:05:15 -0800

I'll have to second the MuVo. I have one of their old 128mb/no display ones that I still use for audiobooks. The trick is resampling them to a lower bitrate to fit more on there. I've been known to cram 20 hours of audio onto the little thing. It has survived falls and below zero temps, and its no worse for wear.

One of the coolest things is that it only takes 1 AAA, and it lasts forever on it. If you hit the pause and it times out, or if you turn it off, it will remember exactly where you were because it writes it to the flash.

By: rossination

rossination — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 23:11:49 -0800

nthing the iPod, especially used. Buy a used mini off of eBay (probably around a hundred bucks now), and it will treat you well.

By: unmake

unmake — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:27:12 -0800

Kind of like a cd player, but one that would be able to play back MP3.

Such things do exist, and are quite cheap (under $25). Probably the best low-cost option if you want a lot of material with you (CD-R's are practically free) and don't mind the form factor.

By: dpcoffin

dpcoffin — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 10:14:54 -0800

Interesting discussion; thanks!
BUT, if I may digress...how do you get your audio books into mp3 format? Ive got a bunch of Audible titles (and an iPod) and would LOVE to convert these into mp3s and put em on a few CDs. Cant figure it out... Any suggestions?

By: gsquared

gsquared — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:30:48 -0800

Would 2nd the recommendation on (certain) Sandisk players. I am currently using the m series - $70cdn at Costco - has the following key + features - remembers place most of the time, fast startup, AAA battery (non proprietary), USB Mass Storage compatibility. bad features - seems to be a limit to 126 files at a time, sometimes has strange sequencing glitches (use a playlist to work around). Not sure if the current Sandisk series works as well - each model seems different - their e100 series had a better form factor and an SD slot for additional capacity but was crippled by an interminable startup time. Your best bet is to buy from someone who has a 30 day return feature because hardly any of the various reviews that are available consider the features or glitches that affect audiobook listening but are usually irrelevent to music enjoyment.

By: gsquared

gsquared — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:33:42 -0800

for dpcoffin - there is an involved way of getting audible->mp3 that involves Audible Manager 3.5 and Goldwave 5.5 - email me for a txt file indicating how this can be done

By: lodurr

lodurr — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 07:18:47 -0800

Sandisk players are a great option. They have a new low-end that has an integral USB plug.

That said, I just bought an Insignia (Best Buy in-house brand) for a screaming good price -- $139 for 4GB+MicroSD, with video, supports UMS (so will work well on Macs) as well as MTP, and it will play Audible format. Interface looks pretty good -- very Sansa-like (in fact, wouldn't surprise me if Sandisk was the OEM, it's so Sansa-like). Mostly using it for podcasts at the gym.