New twist on audiobook
Like a lot of Americans this weekend I’m enjoying it by the beach where I’ve brought along a summer book. But instead of a paperback, I’m doing my beach reading by listening to it on a new gizmo that bills itself as the world’s first self-playing audiobook.
It’s called the Playaway, an audio player about the size of an iPod mini. It comes with earbuds, a lanyard and runs on a single AAA battery. You can speed up the reader’s voice, adjust volume, move forward or backwards and bookmark the place you left off.
Like throwaway cameras, it’s a one-shot deal. You don’t re-record over it or load other books onto it. If you want another book, buy it. You can listen and relisten to the same “book” as much as you want, though. But that still doesn’t offset the steep cost. And that’s my big criticism of these devices. They’re outrageously costly.
Prices start at $34.99. “The Cell,” the Stephen King novel I’m listening to, costs $49, as do most of the other 44 selections they’re offering.
That’s way, way too much money.
June 30th, 2006 at 8:56 am
Besides being pricey, it’s also a one-shot disposable–an environmental minus. Thumbs down.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:40 am
Can you listen to it more than once? New earbuds each time… what a waste. I agree, too much money and not environmentally good.
June 30th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
They have these available at our local library in Tallahassee Florida — and work really well. No charge to check them out, no equipment needed to play them on, but I sure would want to use my own earplugs!! The one thing I’m not at all sure of is how long they hold up in a library setting… however CD’s are troublesome for many reasons (lost & damaged disks are frequent) so it may be about the same cost to the library, and less hassle to the patron.
That said… I still use my iPod and Audible.com… and with Audible I still have the option to burn onto CD if I need that format… and it only costs about $10 a title!
July 1st, 2006 at 10:47 am
That price isn’t really far out of line with what physical CDs cost for audiobooks at typical chain bookstores. I think it’s a great idea!
July 3rd, 2006 at 1:04 am
I have been using audible.com for two years and have listened to many excellent books. To use another player and pay those kinds of prices when you have an ipod makes absolutely no sense.
July 4th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
WALMART IS FORCING ALL SECURITY, THAT MAKES GOOD MONEY OUT, CHECK IT OUT YOUR SELF!!!