audiobooks
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Audible Latino launches with Spanish-language 'Harry Potter'
Audible now has a dedicated platform for Spanish-language audiobooks. It's called Audible Latino, and according to the company, it offers the largest selection of audiobooks in Español for fans in the US. The portal has launched with quite a few titles to choose from, but its crowning glory is definitely Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal aka Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. It's performed by Puerto Rican actor Carlos Ponce, and it marks the first time the Spanish version of a Harry Potter book has officially been released in digital audio.
Google adds more media and messaging options to Android Auto
Google is rolling out media playback and messaging updates on Android Auto to make it more convenient while keeping safety at the forefront. The refreshed media interface should quickly help you find something you want to listen to , while the system can display short previews of texts -- but only when the car is stopped.
Amazon adds kid-friendly audiobooks to FreeTime Unlimited
FreeTime Unlimited, Amazon's service that gives parents control over their kids' screen time experience, is expanding to Audiobooks. Starting today, more than 1,000 kid-friendly stories from Audible will be available through FreeTime Unlimited. The audiobooks will appear via software update. The service is available on Amazon tablets as well as iOS and Android devices.
Audible offers two of its original audiobooks free every month
Audible isn't done offering freebies (of sorts) to subscribers. Members now receive two Audible Originals audiobooks every month on top of whatever they download using their credits. The Amazon-owned service will make six of its Originals available on the first Friday of every month, and ask you to choose two favorites from the bunch. The initial selection gives you a sense of what to expect. You'll see high-profile titles like Carey Mulligan's theatrical production Girls & Boys, an X-Files side story (Cold Cases) and a fresh reading of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma.
Audible's first fitness programs guide you through workouts
Audible now wants to serve as your personal coach -- the audiobook service is launching audio fitness programs through an alliance with Aaptiv. Each program has a professional trainer guiding you through a progressively challenging set of workouts with a clear goal in mind, complete with a soundtrack to keep up the momentum. The first three courses are aimed squarely at beginners interested in outdoor running and stress-relieving meditation, but follow-ups in the weeks ahead will address more challenging issues, such as the boredom that sets in with an all-too-familiar gym routine.
Google Play now offers speed control and bookmarks for audiobooks
In January, Google launched its Play Store audiobook category and today, the company has released a handful of updates that will improve the user experience. Now, you'll be able to bookmark parts of your audiobook that you'd like to return to. Just tap the Bookmark icon and you can easily come back to it whenever you'd like. You'll also be able to control the speed at which your audiobook plays. Slow it down to as low as half the speed or bump it up as much as three times faster.
Walmart teams up with Kobo to sell ebooks and audiobooks
Later this year, you'll be able to buy ebooks and audiobooks straight from Walmart's website. The big box retailer has teamed up with Japanese e-commerce titan Rakuten to launch a business that can take on Amazon's Kindle offerings. Walmart will give its customers in the US an easy way to access to Kobo's library -- Kobo is Rakuten's digital book division -- and its six million titles from tens of thousands of publishers. The company will also start selling Kobo eReaders, which will set you back at least $120, online and in stores sometime this year.
The Google Play store is now selling audiobooks
The Google Play Store has sold just about every media type for years now, but there's one more category the company is getting into as of today: audiobooks. As a leaked image revealed a few days ago, audiobooks are now on sale from Google Play in 45 countries and nine languages. As with most other Google services, audiobooks are available on pretty much any device you would want to use: Android, iOS, the web and Google Home speakers. To play a book on your phone, you'll need to download the Google Play Books app, which until now has focused on text-only options.
Google Play banner hints at dedicated audiobook section
Google Play might be close to launching a section dedicated to selling audiobooks. 9to5Google has spotted a banner displayed in the Books section of the app market announcing its arrival. It was even promoting a 50 percent discount for your first audiobook purchase and apparently linked to a category distinct from Google Play Music, which does have some audiobooks on offer. The link still brings up an empty page as of this writing.
Audible adds shortcuts to the 'good parts' of romantic audiobooks
Sexy isn't what springs to mind when you think of big data. But, in Audible's case, it's providing a shortcut to the raciest audiobook passages on its service. The Amazon-owned firm is utilizing an algorithm as part of two features tied to its new romance subscription. With it, you can jump straight to the best bits from a novel (including the "hot, hot, hot" part). On top of that, it assigns a "steaminess" score -- ranging from "sweet" to "O-O-OMG" -- to the books, so you know exactly what you're in for. The playful terminology seems fitting for a genre that's as fun as they come.
Kobo adds audiobooks along with an Audible-like subscription
Kobo is finally getting into the audiobooks biz. The Canadian company has added audiobooks to its offerings and already has an extensive catalogue sell, including bestsellers like the Harry Potter series. Even better, it has launched $10-per-month Audible-like subscription service, which sounds like a good deal if you regularly purchase audiobooks. The service gives you credits you can use to get any title from Kobo.com, even if its list price costs more than what you paid. You get a free 30-day trial period, so you can check out how it works before committing. But if you know you can go through a single audiobook real fast, you can also just straight up buy a three-pack credit for $30 and keep up to 24 credits in your subscription account.
eStories launches an alternative source for audiobooks
After ditching the major labels to go pure indie in 2014, digital music store eMusic and its new parent company TriPlay are now ready to take on Amazon and Audible's audiobook dominance. Today, TriPlay launched their eStories competitor with 80,000 titles and memberships starting at $11.95 per month.
Waterstones is done selling e-books
Waterstones is well and truly getting back to basics today, as it has dropped e-books and audiobooks from its online store. The digital libraries of Waterstones customers will remain accessible until June 13th, with Kobo taking over the following day. Those affected will be emailed instructions of how they can migrate their e-book collection over to Kobo's platform, where their purchases will live on. Audiobook libraries will also disappear mid-June, but there's no fallback service, so make sure you download the MP3s associated with your Waterstones account before it's too late.
Audible wants you to share audiobook passages like Vine clips
The next time you discover a notable passage in an audiobook, Audible wants you to share it among your friends like you would a meme or Vine clip. The audiobook company announced a Clips feature today, a tool that allows you to select a short passage or excerpt to download for future listening. The feature also lets you share the snippet of audio via social channels, email and text message. In the Audible app, just tap the Clips icon when you hear something you want to save or share. The software will then let you select up to 45 seconds of audio. And yes, you can make edits should the need arise.
Dear Veronica: Breaching the 'Great Firewall' of China
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-273439{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-273439, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-273439{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-273439").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Happy Wednesday once again! This week, we kick things off with a great question from Daryl, who wants to stay in touch with his wife who will be staying in China for the next few months. Fortunately, my own spouse (who you may recognize from the Engadget of yore) has done tons of research into this very subject from our own trip to China! I also cover questions on how to get into the gadget reviewing world, and the benefits of audiobooks! In fact, we have a poll this week for you on that subject below: if you think the experience is better listening to a story, select the megaphone-looking emoji. If you think reading words is the one true way to get thoughts into your brain, select the book! If you hate both, choose the ghost emoji because you can't be for real. Keep those questions coming for future episodes by emailing me or sending me a tweet with #DearVeronica in it! See you next time! Subscribe in iTunes or RSS. Which reading experience is best?
TuneIn Premium streams live sports, music and audiobooks for $8 a month
The ability to livestream television, especially sports, is handy while you're away from home. But what about the times (driving, working, etc.) when you can't give a screen your undivided attention? You could opt for an all-audio option. With TuneIn's new subscription service, you won't have to worry about missing Major League Baseball, Barclays Premier League or Bundesliga action. For MLB games, you can choose between either the home or away feed for every game from spring training through the World Series. The BPL play-by-play is provided by talkSPORT, and while all Bundesliga matches will stream in German, only select match-ups will be available in English.
Amazon's voice-savvy Echo speaker now reads audiobooks to you
If you're the sort to wander around the house listening to audiobook versions of hot new novels, Amazon just made your day: it upgraded its voice-guided Echo speaker to handle Audible files. Much like a kid asking for a bedtime story, you only have to ask the Echo to read you a title. It'll even pick up where you left off without mentioning the book by name. Amazon's audio tube won't speak text (at least, not yet), but this is a big step forward if music playback alone just won't cut it.
You can now listen to the 'Game of Thrones' audiobooks on Scribd
At this point, it's almost illegal if you don't describe Scribd as the Netflix of reading, which has just signed a new audiobook deal with Penguin Random House. The agreement gives the service access to 9,000 of the super publisher's library, including blockbuster titles like the Game of Thro... A Song of Ice and Fire series. If your inner goddess prefers something more sensual, however, you can enjoy Fifty Shades of Grey on a train before jumping on transport-based thriller Girl on the Train. The titles are available to everyone who pays the $8.99 monthly fee, but we should warn you that it's not likely that you'll finish all of George R.R. Martin's books before the fifth season of Game of Thrones ends.
Apple finally realized that audiobooks aren't music
Have you scratched your head wondering why Apple would put audiobooks in iOS' music player, rather than... y'know, a book app? So has Apple. Besides a redesigned music app, the early iOS 8.4 beta also moves audiobooks into iBooks, where they arguably should have been all along. You'll also get must-have playback features like chapter selection and a sleep timer. It's not certain when 8.4 will be ready for the public (WWDC, perhaps?), but it's already obvious that this is much more than a simple bug fix.
Barnes and Noble debuts Nook Audiobooks app on Android
For those times you'd rather have someone else read to you, Barnes and Noble is outfitting Android devices with an app that does just that. Nook Audiobooks taps into the retailer's library of over 50,000 titles via the aforementioned phones and tablets, accessing listener-friendly versions of works like Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. If you act quickly, B&N will throw in two downloads (from a list of five pre-selected items) for free, and the app itself it available at no charge.
