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readingglasses · 08-06-2011, 02:16 AM

No, I don't have a list. Sony does NOT play protected audio (so you can't borrow the DRM'd audiobooks from your library). But you can listen to non-drm music or whatever, through headphones, as you read.

Kobo doesn't even HAVE an audio jack. (It's the cheapest one).

Idk anything about nook or kindle. But that's only b/c I'm not a fan of amazon or BN so I don't care to find out. Maybe they play not only audio but drm'd library audio to boot. There are other brands. Look at the matrix (google it) on this site.

I was a little disappointed about this meself. But then I thought, wouldn't I rather listen to an audiobook, like music, with a little gadget, if I can? Why would I want to carry the ereader around for a run when I could listen on my mp3 player?

The point to remember when checking what plays what is not wma or mp3, but if it's PROTECTED (meaning DRM'd) or not. both wma and mp3 can have drm that the device has to authenticate and stop playing after your library loan period (so it has to have some drm authentication, either in itself or with software like itunes, it has to have an internal clock/date to stop playing your file after that date...this isn't USUALLY available in the 20 buck mp3 player category at walmart or bestbuy, but check the specs ). And so libraries and overdrive etc offer both wma and mp3 downloads, drm'd.

The only real need for audio with an ebook, is for some impairments/disability of sight, where daisy type text-to-speech software on board can be used to make an epub "accessible" to the blind or if you're driving. Not that it's a great win to have to listen to a robot voice if you're blind and have an epub ebook for which there is no human-read audiobook version. Otherwise, audiobooks make more sense on tiny mp3 players.

Just as an aside, if you are in fact blind, and you want a text to speech device, that's another thing you have to check. For example, I have no idea if any ereaders offer text to speech. So a full computer and recording a text reader to an mp3 file for your mp3 player may be all you have. Epub 3 says that the format will become more accessible, but we'll see if ebook devices actually offer the functionality.

08-06-2011, 02:16 AM	#36
readingglasses Zealot Posts: 124 Karma: 9252 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: (prospective) kobo touch	No, I don't have a list. Sony does NOT play protected audio (so you can't borrow the DRM'd audiobooks from your library). But you can listen to non-drm music or whatever, through headphones, as you read. Kobo doesn't even HAVE an audio jack. (It's the cheapest one). Idk anything about nook or kindle. But that's only b/c I'm not a fan of amazon or BN so I don't care to find out. Maybe they play not only audio but drm'd library audio to boot. There are other brands. Look at the matrix (google it) on this site. I was a little disappointed about this meself. But then I thought, wouldn't I rather listen to an audiobook, like music, with a little gadget, if I can? Why would I want to carry the ereader around for a run when I could listen on my mp3 player? The point to remember when checking what plays what is not wma or mp3, but if it's PROTECTED (meaning DRM'd) or not. both wma and mp3 can have drm that the device has to authenticate and stop playing after your library loan period (so it has to have some drm authentication, either in itself or with software like itunes, it has to have an internal clock/date to stop playing your file after that date...this isn't USUALLY available in the 20 buck mp3 player category at walmart or bestbuy, but check the specs ). And so libraries and overdrive etc offer both wma and mp3 downloads, drm'd. The only real need for audio with an ebook, is for some impairments/disability of sight, where daisy type text-to-speech software on board can be used to make an epub "accessible" to the blind or if you're driving. Not that it's a great win to have to listen to a robot voice if you're blind and have an epub ebook for which there is no human-read audiobook version. Otherwise, audiobooks make more sense on tiny mp3 players. Just as an aside, if you are in fact blind, and you want a text to speech device, that's another thing you have to check. For example, I have no idea if any ereaders offer text to speech. So a full computer and recording a text reader to an mp3 file for your mp3 player may be all you have. Epub 3 says that the format will become more accessible, but we'll see if ebook devices actually offer the functionality. Last edited by readingglasses; 08-06-2011 at 02:24 AM.