APP REVIEW: Audible (IOS)

Nowadays, most people can read. Presumably, if you are reading this, then you can read. But still, most of us can cook, but if someone offers to make us a meal, so long as they’re a good cook, we’re happy to let them, right? So why not allow ourselves to relax and listen to someone else read a book?

Audible.com have a wide range of audio books to choose from. You can now download the Audible app, which is quite easy to use. If you can competently use an apple device,  then the app is no big deal, as it is pretty self explanatory if you already know what you’re doing. It has simple controls that allow you to skip back and forward (useful if someone forgets you’ve got your headphones in and starts talking and you miss a bit) play and pause functions, volume controls, a bookmark facility (which you don’t really need to use because it holds your place automatically anyway) and a chapters section (useful for if you’re skipping through a book looking for something, or if you’re listening to a collection of short stories and have had enough of the one you are currently on.)

The app’s main advantage is that it’s portable. You can get it on your iPhone or iPad. It also means you can take it to bed with you. Theoretically, you can get Audible on a laptop, so if you were really desperate you could take that to bed with you, but it seems an unlikely scenario. Also, smaller devices are easier to use while doing other things. I often listen to books while I’m exercising.

As with anything, there are some drawbacks, of course. You can’t purchase books from within the app, so you’ll need access to audible.com for that. In addition, you have to have internet to download the book using the app, so you can’t start a book on the go unless you’ve previously downloaded it if you’ve no internet. However, once it’s downloaded, you can listen to it whenever you like.

There is, as always, the financial aspect. For £8 a month you get 1 credit which gives you 1 audio book, which you then get to keep in your library. There are options to purchase extra credits, which sometimes have discounts. To start off, you receive a free audio book as a trial. It’s true that you can buy most eBooks on iTunes using iBooks for around £5 but audiobooks on iTunes are usually around £10 to £12.

In fact, if you read up about them carefully, you’ll find that they were are often produced by or for audible.com, therefore in that respect you are usually saving money by using the service to purchase audio books. The exception is with some shorter works, which you can buy on iTunes for around £5 or £6, so if it’s a shorter work, it may be worth shopping around. Other audiobook options include those on CD from book stores, which are usually £10 or more and have very limited ranges. For some free audiobooks, it may be worth checking out your local library. Audio book sections these days are getting bigger and are moving away from CD and tape, to these cool little handheld devices that you borrow with a book preloaded on to it, and return when you’ve finished the book.

Overall, I’d say, audio books are definitely a great option and just because you can read, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen. The audible.com free trial is worth having, because at the very least it’s a free audio book, isn’t it? I mean seriously, things are rarely free these days. I also think the app opens up audiobooks to a wider audience. It used to be more hassle than the general population were willing to go to find a CD or tape, particularly as the CD could get scratched or the tape could come out of the tape. Whereas now, it’s really easy and quick to access to just listen to a book from an app. If you listen to audiobooks a lot, you may find yourself getting them from a variety of sources like I do, so audible.com could be a new addition to your list of places to look.

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