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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.
Microsoft partners with Audible to enhance Windows Phone voice recognition, available for WP 7.5 and up
Siri, S Voice -- well, now Microsoft's got its own answer to those rival voice services (sort of) and it's coming in the form of a partnership with Audible on the Windows Phone platform. The company's very own Kevin Gallo took to the stage at today's Summit in San Francisco to demonstrate the enhanced feature running on Windows Phone 8. Though the Redmond-made OS has supported voice commands since the platform's seventh iteration (née Mango) by allowing users to launch applications, it can now also help users search, as well as play audiobook files. In the demo, Gallo was able to skip a chapter ahead, pause and resume listening to his selected Game of Thrones title. And lest the WP faithful feel left behind with the seemingly endless spate of Apollo-only goods, the company's making this application this integration available to handsets running WP 7.5 and up available for WP 7.5 handsets starting later today, though it hasn't specified whether users will be able to take advantage of those voice controls. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
MyFord Touch Upgrade inbound, brings 'faster, simpler, easier' infotainment to your late-model whip
For better or worse, Ford owners have been basking in the overzealous infotainment ways of MyFord Touch for over a year now. Since then, the service's been updated with amenities such as integrated Nuance voice recognition for SYNC, but now the Dearborn-based automobile monolith is taking things a few steps forward. Penned for release "early next year," the MyFord Touch Upgrade will usher in a massive revamp across every nook and cranny of the system as a whole. Starting with the 2013 model year Flex, Taurus and Escape, drivers will be greeted by over 1,000 revised screens implementing an "improved look," with an up to 40 percent increase in font sizes, a simpler -- and more cohesive -- GUI focused displaying only important info (for less clutter) and notably, doubly fast response times for touch and voice-based inputs. And oh yes, it gets even better. Those with tablets will be pleased to know that multimedia playback will be supported via USB, while mobile phones will benefit from quicker automatic Bluetooth pairing and better echo and noise-cancellation. Ford has also baked-in voice support for sports buffs with Sirius Game Finder, as well as bibliophiles with Audible.com integration (which can also be touch controlled, should you desire it). Best of all, you'll no longer need to recite any parenthetical or bracketed album info your music tracks may have, or the direction of street names when inputting addresses for directions. Speaking of, the TeleNav-enabled nav system will have further map detail courtesy of Navteq, with enhancements like more 3D imaging, "photorealistic" signage and better route planning thanks to "a database of historical traffic patterns." If you've already got some miles on an existing MyFord Touch-enabled ride, no worries -- Ford will give your system the upgrade pro bono when it's available, taking all but a (hopefully) quick visit to your local dealer. Potential and current Ford owners will find more visuals in the gallery below and full details in the press release past break. Update: Ford has let us know that existing owners will not be required to visit their dealer for the upgrade, and will be receiving a USB drive allowing for a self-install in the mail. That said, you can still drop by your dealer after getting it to have the install done there. %Gallery-138462%
Audible removing in-app purchases according to Apple's rules
We've seen quite a bit of squabbling over the subscription and in-app purchase for content rules on the App Store in the past, but generally, things have tended to go Apple's way. Most companies, especially those who really depend on the iOS audience for buying their content, are eventually willing to put up with Apple's 30% cut of any content prices sold through an App Store app. But that's not the case with Audible, sellers of fine audiobooks for your iPhone and iPod touch -- the company has pulled the option to buy content directly through the app in the iOS version's latest update. iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users can still shop through the mobile store via Safari -- there's even a link inside the app that will open up the online store in your device's browser. So essentially, Audible's just working around Apple's restrictions here. Which make Apple's restrictions look a little silly, but the goal of course is to get that cut off of all content bought in the App Store. It's a shame Audible's customers have to deal with that extra inconvenience, though.
Audible audiobooks now flying onto Kindles via WiFi
Heads-up, Kindle owners -- digging into your next audiobook just got a lot less troublesome. Audible has just announced that over 50,000 of its audiobooks are now available to download directly onto Kindles everywhere through WiFi. Granted, that's still one step away (3G) from being as good as it could possibly get, but it's still a tremendous improvement over the tried-and-true USB sideloading method. For those looking to get started for the first time, the outfit's offering a 30-day free trial of AudibleListener Gold, detailed in the source link below. Happy listening, bookworms.
Audible finally arrives on the iPhone
I've been an Audible fan for far longer then I've owned an iPhone; when I first launched the App Store, Audible was one of the first things I searched for. Thanks to some of the changes made in iOS 4.0, some of the largest challenges for an Audible iPhone app we've written about in the past are no longer a problem. I'm really excited that a free Audible app has finally arrived on the App Store! Ironically, while you can create an Audible account from the app, you aren't able to browse Audible's selection or purchase books; plan on making a round trip to Safari whenever you want to buy something. Additionally, there are some older titles that have not yet been made available in a format ready for wireless delivery, but Audible claims over 75,000 titles are available. One annoyance with the application is that you will need to be connected to Wi-Fi to download any files larger then 20MB. While this limit isn't particularly surprising given similar restrictions in other apps and the App Store itself, it is a limit not shared with at least one other Audible app on a competing platform.
Audible.com downloads: there's an app for that, just not on the iPhone.
There are very, very few things I miss about my Treo, but one of the few is my favorite app: AudibleAir. AudibleAir is an application from Audible.com that would download audio books from your Audible Library directly to your mobile phone. It is available on just about every popular smartphone you can think of except for – you guessed it – the iPhone. The reason is because of the iPhone SDK limitations, as Audible explains in their FAQ: "Unfortunately, the iPhone Software Development Kit does not currently allow third party applications the ability to wirelessly add content to the iTunes application. We are in discussions with our partners at Apple, and hope to be able to develop an optimal Audible iPhone experience soon." If Audible could download their content and then add it to the regular iTunes library, you could listen to it through the regular iPod software. However, Apple says they can't do that. Audible could make an application to download their content to their own app, and then let you listen to that content even if you left the application. Of course, Apple says they can't do that either, as it would require a background to continue. So, Audible would have to create their own app to download content. That app would also have to play the audiobook, and you couldn't do anything else while it was playing. Even if Apple lifted one, or both, of those limitations, there would be another hurdle. AT&T does not allow for downloads over 20MB. Audible currently offers 4 formats: the first three are numbered 2, 3, and 4; and the last is called "Audible Enhanced Audio" (yes, there used to be a format "1" but it has either been discontinued or, at least, deprecated).
ASUS DR-950 9-inch touchscreen e-reader brings text-to-speech and internet browser
ASUS is suddenly all chatty with its plans to enter the e-reader market in 2010. Just yesterday we got word of a 6-inch color (claimed to be OLED by InGear) e-reader from ASUS by the name of DR-570 headed to retail before the year is through. Now we've got details of a second ASUS e-reader, dubbed the DR-950 that should arrive sooner. This time we're looking at a 9-inch Sipix panel with 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution pushing 16-levels of gray just like the Jinke reader unveiled at CES. The touchscreen DR-950 features text-to-speech (based on Svox engine supporting 26 languages), a web browser that works in portrait or landscape modes, a virtual keyboard and handwriting input, a RSS reader, and dictionary (with expandable database) with real-time translation. Spec-wise, the 222 x 161 x 9-mm / 370-gram reader packs WiFi and HSPA (WiMax is optional) data radios, 3.5-mm headphone jack and stereo speakers, with 4GB of internal memory and SD Card expansion. Supported formats include PDF, TXT, Audible, MP3, and unprotected ePub. Not bad ASUS, not bad. Now let's see some content partners, eh? See it pictured browsing the web after the break.
Amazon buys audiobook vendor Audible
The tie between spoken-books merchant Audible and iTunes has always been strong. Audible's catalog forms the backbone of iTunes' audio book offerings, and there's a history of Audible offering iTunes-exclusive content. So it came as a surprise to me when Amazon bought Audible for $300 million, announced today. I'd imagine that the deal includes provisions for Apple's existing contracts, but I'm curious as to how this will affect future negotiations. The Amazon/Audible deal is projected to close in the 2nd quarter of this year. We've covered Amazon's entry into DRM-free music sales previously on TUAW.
Amazon adds Audible to its digital empire
Amazon just announced an agreement to acquire Audible Inc. The move, once approved by the Feds and shareholders, leaves Audible.com's 80,000 strong library of audiobooks, radio programs, newspapers, and such in the hands of Amazon. Funny how a company built on a foundation of paper now finds itself knee deep in digital music, books, video and even devices. The $300 Million deal is expected to conclude by Q2, 2008.
Not reading enough books these days? Here's how to play and 'read' at the same time
If you're anything like me, then you may find that the more engrossed you become in a particular MMO, the more your leisure time formerly spent on reading gets whittled away. Thankfully, our friends over at WoW Insider have come up with an excellent solution that doesn't involve helper monkeys, a secondary cyborg head, or time manipulation -- but feel free to go for any of these ideas too.WI's fix for the problem is simple, but effective -- audiobooks. Sites like audible.com contain a large range of titles to choose from, and this way, instead of just listening to the same ambient sound collection replayed over and over during your next multiple-hour grind session, you could be catching up on the work of your favorite author. Aside from allowing you to keep up with your list of must-read books, you may even discover that what was previously a very tedious grind could become a lot easier, as your brain disengages from the repetitive in-game actions and focuses on your riveting audio novel.So there you have it. Hopefully you didn't rush out to the pet shop after the first paragraph, and now have a practical way to keep on top of your reading while you play games. You can check out the full article at WI through the link below.
How to enjoy grinding and read books at the same time
For a long time now I've been a big fan, not only of WoW, but of audible.com, where they have a great library of audiobooks for sale and download to your portable audio device of choice. Without realizing how or when, I have developed a habit of blending these two loves together for a marvelous effect: grinding plus audiobooks equals a great time.The basic problem with grinding in an MMO, after all, is that it doesn't require your full attention, especially if your goal is straightforward and you've done it before in one way or another. It's relatively easy to just put yourself on autopilot and do the job while your mind does something else. Listening to an audiobook is the perfect companion to this, because it fills up your mind, and leaves your hands and eyeballs itching to do something of their own. Also, I'm a person that has trouble reading with my eyes. I can do it for short periods without any trouble, but with long books, I tend to fall asleep or get distracted very easily. Through Audible, I might have read more books with my ears than I have read with my eyes by now, and although I know some people must have the paper copy of a book in their hands, there's probably a large number of WoW players out there who find themselves not reading as much as they would like, and would love to know that there's another way to get their literary fix.
Olympus voice-activated DS-50 records days of audio
Olympus might have halted production of its DAPs, but it's still taking time out from busting out wicked zoom cameras to dabble in the portable audio realm. The DS-50 is a handheld audio recorder / audiobook player hybrid, and aside from its ability to hold between 17 hours (STXQ stereo mode) and 275 hours (paltry LP mode) on the built-in 1GB of storage, it also touts voice-activated record / playback controls, a backlit LCD screen, MP3 / WMA support, and the obligatory integrated microphone. You'll get around 26 to 31 hours of battery life on a pair of AAA cells, USB connectivity, and Audible support as well. So if you're looking to capture days and days of audio, and want to break up the podcasting sessions with a few books / tunes along the way, the DS-50 can be snapped up now for a stiff £249 ($487).[Via ShinyShiny]
RCA Lyra X3030 media player gets bump to 30GB
It may be only a couple of weeks since we first started seeing reviews of Thomson/RCA's Lyra X3000 portable media player, but that hasn't stopped the company from announcing a successor, the X3030. Like the X3000, the X3030, due out in May, can handle WMA, PlaysforSure, Audible and DivX files, and has a 3.6-inch LCD display. In fact, the main difference between the two models appears to be a bump in hard disk size, from 20 to 30GB (gee, that must be why this is the X3030). RCA has kept the suggested retail price at the same $399 level as the X3000, so if you like the Lyra's specs and 20GB will do it for you, now might be a good time for you to grab an X3000 from a clearance bin.
