audio books
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Audible has a new, cheaper plan (if you can do without the book credits)
It's also merging Gold and Premium plans into a single subscription.
Amazon Audible hits WP 7.5, brings gesture controlled audiobooks (update)
It didn't land in the Marketplace yesterday as announced, but Amazon's Audible audio book app for Windows Phone 7.5 is now available for download. This Metro-fied version of the app is free to install (including some short samples to get you started), and signing in with your Amazon account lets you purchase any books that the service has on offer. Media can be controlled using a swipe gesture interface, and there are even varying levels of badges to reward how much of a book-worm you become. That said, we haven't been able to use the voice control functionally shown off by Microsoft at its Developers Summit is naturally a WP 8-only affair, so you won't find that feature here. If you're eager to get your literary listening on, you'll find a download and more info about the app at the source link below. Update: As many of you have pointed out in the comments, the voice control aspect is specific to Windows Phone 8. We've updated our language in the post to reflect this.
Nokia Reading opens its pages to select European nations, more to follow
Nokia's not shy when it comes to decorating the Lumia halls with proprietary and partnership apps. The latest addition? That Nokia Reading app we first saw announced at MWC. Owners of Lumia 900, 800, 710 and 610 phones in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the UK will be able to get their thumbs amidst those digital pages over the next few weeks, while unspecified "other" countries can look forward to it some time later in the year. Espoo is keen to point out that there'll be an emphasis on "own language" titles, but also a large collection of English language best sellers for which translations aren't available. It's just the written word for now, but audio books and news feeds will be introduced later. Let's just hope you finish reading The Color Purple by then.
Wolfheart audiobook on sale now, listen to samples for free
Looking to get into some WoW fiction but don't have the time to read? How about an audio book? Simon & Schuster is offering World of Warcraft: Wolfheart at 20% off from now until Wednesday, April 18. You can also listen to the prologue and the first chapter for free. Head to Simon & Schuster's website for details. Wolfheart by Richard A. Knaak was released last September, and you can check out our review of it we did back then. As Anne Stickney said in her review: For Alliance fans who are looking for a shot of good old-fashioned Alliance lore in the wake of Cataclysm, and for Horde fans who want to read more about the Alliance side of the Cataclysm struggle, Wolfheart is an excellent read. The events in this book hint and foreshadow things still to come in Cataclysm and beyond. Plus, we finally get to see the continuation of that ominous clash in the Ulduar trailer -- and let's face it, who hasn't been waiting to see that? If you're looking to get started reading Warcraft fiction in general, take a look at our chronological order of WoW fiction to help you decide where to start. Blizzard's full announcement, after the break.
AudioBooks introduces all-you-can-eat book streaming
If you're a commuter with a taste for the spoken word, you'll be pleased to hear that Audiobooks.com is introducing an all-you-can-eat service, including thousands of best-sellers. It's like Spotify or Rdio for audio books. Launching today, the new Audiobooks.com plan runs $24.95 per month, and can stream to nearly any internet-enabled mobile device. A very nice thing about the service is that you don't have to take out a book at a time. If a book grows boring, or you just want to listen to something different for a while, you can mark your place, and resume listening at the same spot at another time. They write, "With Audiobooks.com, there are no storage constraints, no need to return audio books, no long-term contracts and no time constraints on audio book use. Audiobooks.com users can even mark their place in an audio book and resume listening at the same spot without using a browser plug-in or special application." TUAW asked Ian Small, the general manager, about their pricing strategy, running as it does somewhat higher than music-only services. He replied through a spokesperson that Audiobooks is trying to price their service close to popular market standard, with Audible.com setting that standard. In the end, are you willing to add another monthly $25 bill to your costs? For some, it will be an invaluable service, for others a skippable luxury. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me accessorize my iPod nano on the cheap
Dear Aunt TUAW, I bought a brand new multitouch nano, and now I want to accessorize it. But money is tight, and I don't have a lot to spend. I don't really care about "pretty," but I'd like to see what kind of functionality I can get (accessory-wise) on the cheap. Can you recommend any really affordable add-on accessories for my new little pal? Thanks a lot in advance, Your nephew Stephano J.
6 audiobook classics for under a dollar
One thing the iPhone has done is give a boost to audiobooks. They are a great way to pass the time while driving, sitting in an airport, or taking a long commute.Audio Classics [App Store] is a US$0.99 app that contains 6 public domain books professionally read by a narrator. The app runs on both the iPhone and the iPod touch. The books include:The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(the original story that inspired the recent movie)The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Time MachineThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeAesop's Fables (141 of them)A Christmas CarolThe books include illustrations that pop up in context with what is being read. You can also have the phone vibrate when an image is coming up so you don't miss it. The app supports unlimited bookmarks, and an easy return to them. Navigating between chapters and books is simple. Of course, these books are available in e-readers for free, but the presentation is nice, and you get them read to you. I think the illustrations are fine, but most people listen to these books and don't really want to watch the phone. Otherwise they could get the text-only versions of these books. When there is no illustration on screen, there is a level meter, which is nice but serves no real purpose.Because of the high quality audio files, this app requires 700 MB of space to install, and after the app is on your device it needs only 350 MB to run. I wouldn't recommend downloading this app over 3G, or even WIFI. Just do an install through iTunes.I think this is a well done app, and you're getting 6 audio books for less than US$0.20 apiece. Not bad, and a lot of entertainment value if you like the books that are included. When you're done listening to them all, be sure to delete the app and get all that precious space back.Here are some screen shots: %Gallery-64666%
Letting the iPhone read to you
With apologies to Steve Jobs, who pretty much implied reading was dead, there are more and more applications coming to the iPhone/iPod touch to allow people to do just that -- read books.Today, Traveling Classics has released several public domain titles that you download as applications. A voice reads the book to you while the text stays in sync. The books are narrated by volunteer readers from the Librivox Project, who record the complete text and release their narration into the public domain. It is a bit like open source for books.Among the titles are: (click on them for their App Store links)* Treasure Island * Art of War * The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* Adventures of Huckleberry Finn * The Tell-Tale Heart* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* The Gospel of John * Pride and PrejudiceAll the books are US $0.99 until February 20th, then they are all $1.99.The Gospel of John is free. I tried two of the books, The Art of War, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Both presentations sounded professional. The text did scroll along with the spoken words. You could exit the book, and when re-starting you are given the option to resume where you left off. That worked well. Audio quality was quite good on headphones, and clear enough through the iPhone speaker, but I don't think that is the preferred way to listen.These books compare with other Audio Books available from the App Store, and are certainly cheaper than the same titles from Audibile.com, the iTunes Store or Amazon. On the other hand, those titles from other sources can be played back through a car audio system with an iPod adapter, or burned to a CD, where with the self contained books from Traveling Classics, you'd have to use the headphone jack to get access to the sound. Also, you can get current books from Audibile.com, but the Traveling Classics are just that -- Classics in the public domain. There are other versions of almost all these books. There is, for example, a free version of The Art of War on the iTunes store, but it is text only, no narrator.The Traveling Classics are a nice variation of the standard audio book that people started buying on cassettes years ago, then on CD, and now by downloading them from the Internet. This latest option will appeal to some, but many readers will stick with something they can download and use with other media players.For those of us who like books, despite what Steve Jobs thinks about the market for them, having more to read, and more ways to read, can only be a good thing.
Nokia Beta Labs releases Audiobooks app
Entrenching its Nseries devices just a little deeper in the wide world of multimedia, Nokia's Beta Labs group has released its Audiobooks application which -- you guessed it -- plays audio books. The phone app itself works on pretty much any S60 3rd Edition device and reads books encoded using AMR-WB (read: optimized for the spoken word and very well compressed). A matching Windows-based app comes with the setup, too, enabling users to convert files to the AMR-WB format and compile 'em all into individual chapters. It's available now from the Beta Labs site; of course, you'll want to be careful on account of the whole "beta" thing, but it looks pretty solid so far.
