Player for Audio Books

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

My library now has downloadable books. I'm thinking of getting an MP3 player (or maybe IPOD). I've been reading some reviews on the internet, but most seem pretty old. I've read that I need a bookmark feature. Do most players have that now?

Can anyone recommend features I should look for or models that they like? Some books that I listen to are up to 15 hours long so I need one with sufficient capacity. My guess is 1 Gig is big enough, but I'm looking for suggestions from the experts.

Also, I've heard that you can buy something so that you can listen on your car stereo system so advice on that is also needed.

Thanks!

Sue

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Yes a 1 gig one will be big enough depending on how much you want to put on it. I just downloaded a novel that is probably about 15 hours reading and it takes up 150 meg so you could get several on a 1 gig also depending on what else you store there (ie music, some photos if it has that capability etc).
Definatly get one with bookmark capabilities. Mine doesn't have that and it is very difficult to listen to novels unless they come in separate chapters or I break them down that way before loading to my mp3 player.
Also, several companies (Creative Labs, Sony, and quite a few others) make an device that you plug your mp3 output in to and it transmits an FM signal that you can tune your car radio to.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Thanks Ken. How do you break down into chapters before loading? I tried to download a book onto the MP3 player that I got with my Bose Headphones last year, but the book downloaded into 1 hour chunks - that sure didn't meet my needs.

Sue

[biskits Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close biskits]

I download books all the time from Audible.com onto my Ipod thru Itunes,
as I do a lot of driving and listen to books while I am driving.
The Ipod must automatically bookmarks the audio books because
I can shut it off or stop it and play some music and then when I go back to audiobook, its right at the point I stopped it.
There are a couple of ways to play MP3 players in cars.

Theres several types that play thru FM radio in car

4-IN-1 Full Range Digital FM Transmitter / Charger / Cradle / USB Port with LED Display - iPhone and iPod Accessories Super Store

or thru car cassette player

Car Audio Cassette Adapter for Apple Ipod / MP3 : Audio & Video from Overstock.com

Best wishes,
Paul

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Thanks Ken. How do you break down into chapters before loading? I tried to download a book onto the MP3 player that I got with my Bose Headphones last year, but the book downloaded into 1 hour chunks - that sure didn't meet my needs.

Sue

Sometimes books come as chapters looking like tracks in which case it is pretty easy. Other times if it has multiple CD's I sometimes rip each CD as a separate track which is usually a bit more than a chapter and lastly if I am using it for a trip or something where I really want chapters or small chuncks of somekind I break it up when I rip it from the CD's to MP3 but that is a lot more work,
If I was just buying an MP3 player I would just make sure I got one that does bookmarks, many of them do. I will just be easier. Mine I can pick up where I left off if I don't do anything else in between like listen to music etc. otherwise I need to fast forward to where I was if I remember to take note of the minute where I left off.

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

FWIW, I like a non-IPOD myself as I think having a player that uses WMA format is just easier to rip CDs and sync from a PC. I have a "cheap" ScanDisc Sansa 1GB player and it has been a godsend with all the travel I have been doing this past year.

I also like that it is cheap in case it gets lost or damaged but there are hundreds of good options out there. My library has e-books online too now and I really need to figure out how to get access to them as I have spent way too many hours stuck in airports.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS that has an audio books feature built into it. I think the GPS uses only MP3 files. I know nothing about audio books, but it looks as it cost around $10-15 for a book. Is this correct, or is there a cheaper way to get audio books?

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Thanks for all the comments.

Actually, my library offers free downloads of audio books. I haven't really investigated all the titles, but it seems like a great idea to be able to grab something off the internet before starting a trip.

Sue

[biskits Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close biskits]

Audible.com offers several plans including one that gives you 1 'credit' for $9.95 per month. This credit is usually
good for most books. They also have many titles under $10.
Often they offer introductory promotions for new members.
As noted above, most public libraries offer audiobooks for free.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Folks, would this one do the trick?

SanDisk 1GB Sansa M240 Digital Audio Player with FM tuner -Pink - New, OEM - M240-P
$19.99 with free shipping

Buy.com - SanDisk 1GB Sansa M240 Digital Audio Player with FM tuner -Pink - New, OEM - M240-P

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Folks, would this one do the trick?

SanDisk 1GB Sansa M240 Digital Audio Player with FM tuner -Pink - New, OEM - M240-P
$19.99 with free shipping

Buy.com - SanDisk 1GB Sansa M240 Digital Audio Player with FM tuner -Pink - New, OEM - M240-P

The Sandisk players are pretty good and that price is very good, so in case you loose it or it gets taken or whatever, your not out much. I have another model of the Sansa and am very happy with it. One thing tho none of the Sansas have bookmark capability to my knowledge so if you get that one for books you need to figure out a way to keep track of where you are in the book so you can forward to that spot the next time or else you need to do some prep work first to break it down in chunks and save the book that way, which takes quite a lot of extra work.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

The Sandisk players are pretty good and that price is very good, so in case you loose it or it gets taken or whatever, your not out much. I have another model of the Sansa and am very happy with it. One thing tho none of the Sansas have bookmark capability to my knowledge so if you get that one for books you need to figure out a way to keep track of where you are in the book so you can forward to that spot the next time or else you need to do some prep work first to break it down in chunks and save the book that way, which takes quite a lot of extra work.

Darn, that's discouraging. I would use the player for audio books, too, so I would like one that works really well for that particular purpose. I'll keep looking. Do you have any idea what brand might work well? Thanks!

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

I found this website - not sure how current it is, but they describe some players that are good for audio books and some that are not.

AudioBooksForFree.Com MP3 Portable Players

Thank you, everyone for your comments.

Sue

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Hey, right now on WOOT is the Creative Zen V Plus 4 Gig player for $39.99.
Looks like a good deal to me. Can play all formats (MP3,WMAS,and WAV) Also AVI files and JPEG pics. And it has bookmarks!!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Arg, it was only up for a second and I missed it!!!

Audible.com has this special on a Creative Zen player. It's a "buy a $50 gift certificate, get a $50 credit on a Creative Zen player." Seems like a good deal.

http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/gif...seBVCookie=Yes