What about Audio books on the cellphone?

seasong · 01-02-2011, 12:48 PM

This is a question to you out there.
We all read about e-books on the mobile phone, but what about audio books?
I have thought about this for a while, and would like to have your upinion about it.
The idea is to make audio books combined with pictures. ( A cind of slideshow ) Is this practichal possible? And how would you sell it?
I would prefer to sell it in a way that was as easy as possible for the customer. (The customer load down the book as quick and easy as it is to load down a ringtone ) Is there some place on the net that this can be done? ( that can sell these books for me? )

best regards
seasong

HarryT · 01-02-2011, 12:53 PM

Given that an audiobook can be 1GB+ in size, it's never going to be as quick and easy as downloading a ringtone. Have you looked at mobile data rates? It could be a very expensive proposition.

I use my iPhone a lot to listen to audiobooks, but I always download on my home PC and transfer the audiobook to the phone. I wouldn't dream of downloading an audiobook over 3G, it's way too big.

susan_cassidy · 01-02-2011, 01:59 PM

It would seem to require a completely new format that supports both audio and graphics. All the audio books I know of are either .mp3 or the audible.com special format. You need a way to insert the display of the graphics at a specific point in the playing of the audio. There is no good way to synchronize the display from 2 different files. If the encoding was changed (bit rate or type), if you used some byte offset in the file for the graphics reference, it would not work if you changed bit rates, for example.

You would probably have to get new contracts with the rights owners, hire voice actors to read the books, etc. This might be doable for a company already in that business, but for a private person, almost impossible.

leebase · 01-02-2011, 02:04 PM

I use audible on my iPhone, works great. I download the books via wifi with the audible app.

Lee

seasong · 01-02-2011, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given that an audiobook can be 1GB+ in size, it's never going to be as quick and easy as downloading a ringtone. Have you looked at mobile data rates? It could be a very expensive proposition.

I use my iPhone a lot to listen to audiobooks, but I always download on my home PC and transfer the audiobook to the phone. I wouldn't dream of downloading an audiobook over 3G, it's way too big.

Well, as you maybe allready know, Computers is not my greatest strength,
but I thought that downloadable audio books might be in mp3 format, and if the "story" was not too long ( maybe an hour or so ) the download time would not be lomger than a music album.

Best regards
seasong

seasong · 01-02-2011, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

It would seem to require a completely new format that supports both audio and graphics. All the audio books I know of are either .mp3 or the audible.com special format. You need a way to insert the display of the graphics at a specific point in the playing of the audio. There is no good way to synchronize the display from 2 different files. If the encoding was changed (bit rate or type), if you used some byte offset in the file for the graphics reference, it would not work if you changed bit rates, for example.

You would probably have to get new contracts with the rights owners, hire voice actors to read the books, etc. This might be doable for a company already in that business, but for a private person, almost impossible.

I see the problem, but if it could be done, do you think it would be interesting?

Best regards
seasong

KarenH · 01-02-2011, 03:53 PM

I can see how something like this might be an interesting idea, especially for things like children's books or maybe cookbooks or other types of how-to books, but I don't really see it as having a broad appeal for regular audiobook listeners. I generally only listen to audiobooks at times when reading (or looking at pictures) is not an option, and the same applies for pretty much everyone I know that regularly listens to them.

HarryT · 01-02-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seasong

Well, as you maybe allready know, Computers is not my greatest strength,
but I thought that downloadable audio books might be in mp3 format, and if the "story" was not too long ( maybe an hour or so ) the download time would not be lomger than a music album.

Best regards
seasong

An hour would be a short story length. Even a short novel is typically 6-8 hours as an audiobook; a "blockbuster" can be 30h or even longer.

SeaBookGuy · 01-02-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given that an audiobook can be 1GB+ in size

That would have to be one helluva book, Harry! Most are less than half that.

I sideloaded an mp3 audiobook onto my phone's internal memory to see if it would work. It played, though the cover graphic didn't synchonize; I didn't check to see if the resume function worked (though I doubt it would).

HarryT · 01-02-2011, 04:11 PM

Yes, most audiobooks are of the order of a few hundred MB; I have seen them top the GB Mark, though; "Lord of the Rings" is one such that I have. But even a modest size audiobook of, say, 200MB is a seriously large download for 3G on a mobile phone.

seasong · 01-02-2011, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

An hour would be a short story length. Even a short novel is typically 6-8 hours as an audiobook; a "blockbuster" can be 30h or even longer.

Youre right. It is probably best to load it down on the PC forst

Best regards
seasong

GraceKrispy · 01-03-2011, 12:00 AM

I used my droid to download an audiobook using the overdrive app. I could have chosen to download by "disc", but I accidentally said "download all." It took a while, for sure, but not a long as I may have feared. Even so, I'd download it by chapters instead.

Dodge · 01-03-2011, 03:31 AM

When the technology gets better this could be great. People that work graveyard shift with no other tech gadgets around may enjoy an audiobook once in awhile.

SolRaven · 01-03-2011, 03:36 AM

I have Audible books on my phone, but since my phone is so much bigger than my little Sansa clip, I only listen to it when my clip isn't available.

01-02-2011, 12:48 PM	#1
seasong Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: none	What about Audio books on the cellphone? This is a question to you out there. We all read about e-books on the mobile phone, but what about audio books? I have thought about this for a while, and would like to have your upinion about it. The idea is to make audio books combined with pictures. ( A cind of slideshow ) Is this practichal possible? And how would you sell it? I would prefer to sell it in a way that was as easy as possible for the customer. (The customer load down the book as quick and easy as it is to load down a ringtone ) Is there some place on the net that this can be done? ( that can sell these books for me? ) best regards seasong

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01-02-2011, 12:53 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Given that an audiobook can be 1GB+ in size, it's never going to be as quick and easy as downloading a ringtone. Have you looked at mobile data rates? It could be a very expensive proposition. I use my iPhone a lot to listen to audiobooks, but I always download on my home PC and transfer the audiobook to the phone. I wouldn't dream of downloading an audiobook over 3G, it's way too big.

01-02-2011, 01:59 PM	#3
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	It would seem to require a completely new format that supports both audio and graphics. All the audio books I know of are either .mp3 or the audible.com special format. You need a way to insert the display of the graphics at a specific point in the playing of the audio. There is no good way to synchronize the display from 2 different files. If the encoding was changed (bit rate or type), if you used some byte offset in the file for the graphics reference, it would not work if you changed bit rates, for example. You would probably have to get new contracts with the rights owners, hire voice actors to read the books, etc. This might be doable for a company already in that business, but for a private person, almost impossible.

01-02-2011, 02:04 PM	#4
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,960 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	I use audible on my iPhone, works great. I download the books via wifi with the audible app. Lee

01-02-2011, 03:53 PM	#7
KarenH Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 37762 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: NW Washington State, USA Device: K3	I can see how something like this might be an interesting idea, especially for things like children's books or maybe cookbooks or other types of how-to books, but I don't really see it as having a broad appeal for regular audiobook listeners. I generally only listen to audiobooks at times when reading (or looking at pictures) is not an option, and the same applies for pretty much everyone I know that regularly listens to them.

01-02-2011, 04:11 PM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Yes, most audiobooks are of the order of a few hundred MB; I have seen them top the GB Mark, though; "Lord of the Rings" is one such that I have. But even a modest size audiobook of, say, 200MB is a seriously large download for 3G on a mobile phone.

01-03-2011, 12:00 AM	#12
GraceKrispy It's Dr. Penguin now! Posts: 3,909 Karma: 4705733 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: (USA) Device: iPad mini, Samsung Note 3, Sony PRS-650 (rarely used now)	I used my droid to download an audiobook using the overdrive app. I could have chosen to download by "disc", but I accidentally said "download all." It took a while, for sure, but not a long as I may have feared. Even so, I'd download it by chapters instead.

01-03-2011, 03:31 AM	#13
Dodge Sparks fly off my pages! Posts: 123 Karma: 250002 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Device: Kindle	When the technology gets better this could be great. People that work graveyard shift with no other tech gadgets around may enjoy an audiobook once in awhile.

01-03-2011, 03:36 AM	#14
SolRaven Wizard Posts: 2,214 Karma: 12796976 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Sunshine State Device: Clara, Voyage, Oasis, Paperwhite & PRS-650	I have Audible books on my phone, but since my phone is so much bigger than my little Sansa clip, I only listen to it when my clip isn't available.