Books on Your GPS no comments
Okay, so this is a bit off topic. But maybe not so much; you can’t, or at least you shouldn’t be using your ereader while you are driving.
I have to spend a lot of time in my car, and for years I’ve been listening to unabridged audiobooks while driving between appointments. Recently I needed to get a new GPS and while doing my research I found a number of these that are Audible Ready. This means that the device is compatible with Audible.com’s DRM format. If you are a subscriber of Audible.com you can transfer their downloaded audiobooks from your computer to the GPS unit which will then transmit them over your vehicle’s FM radio. This is pretty cool – listen to a good book while not getting lost.
I find downloading audiobooks much better than swapping out CD’s while driving, though it is not perfect. On my device at least, it is not so easy to rewind if you missed something; you must go back to the beginning of the current chapter. But on the whole I prefer handling the audiobooks as a file rather than with CD’s.
Audible.com (which is owned by Amazon) maintains an on-line, in the cloud library of your purchased audiobooks, and they say that even if you cancel your membership you can still access your library and re-download your audiobooks. You can also keep backup copies on your computer.
There are a number of Audible Ready GPS systems for you to choose from; I will just list a few below:
A lot of the Garmin navigators seem to require you to buy an optional FM receiver, but the two listed above include one.
Of course, you can also use a lot of other devices to listen to Audible.com’s books. Kindles are compatible, as are iPods and many other MP3 players (unfortunately my Archos is not ). You can find a list of compatible devices at Audible.com. If you want your device to transmit over your FM radio you will need an FM transmitter
Besides Audible.com where else can you download audiobooks? I’ve only found a couple of other subscription services for audiobook downloads. These require a monthly subscription payment in exchange for one or two credits per month. Most audiobooks cost one credit.
Audiobook Subscription Services:
- Emusic.com: Emusic.com was one of the pioneers of DRM-free music, and they are doing the same with audiobooks. The audiobooks you download from Emusic are in MP3 format and should work in any device that plays audio files. Subscription rates are $9.99 per month for 1 credit and $19.99 for 2 credits per month.
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Simplyaudiobooks.ca: Has 10,000 downloadable audiobooks as well as an audiobooks on cd rental service. Pricing is $14.95 per month for 1 credit, and $24.95 for 2 credits.
Free Audiobook Downloads:
- Check out your local library. If it is part of the Overdrive system, they should have some audiobooks available from Overdrive. You will need to have a compatible device – your library should have a list or you can find out at Overdrive’s site. While many libraries don’t have very many ebooks to check out yet, you should find a better selection of audiobooks. The Los Angeles County library system for example has about 2,000 audiobooks. This compares to only 350 ebooks – which is up from about 230 the last time I checked by the way.
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LibriVox.org: Public domain titles read by volunteers.
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AudioBooksForFree.com: Public domain titles as well as some indie authors.
Though this post is about downloading audiobooks, I’ll also list a few providers of audiobooks on CD.
Audiobooks on CD Subscription and Rental Services:
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Audiotogo.com: Netflix style subscription. $16.99 for one title or $24.99 for two titles out at a time.
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Recorded Books.com: Rental audiobooks on a per book basis.
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Booksfree.com: Netflix style subscription. $22.49 per month for one title or $27.49 for 2 titles at a time.
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Audiobookworm.com: Netflix style subscription. $17.95 per month for one title and $27.95 for two titles per month.
Again, check out your local library. Mine has many titles available as audiobooks on CD (or cassette for older titles) which I can browse and place holds on online. The system sends an email to notify me when my audiobook is ready for pickup at my local branch.
