650 and Audiobooks: a review

SeaBookGuy · 12-16-2010, 02:15 AM

As a test, I dragged an Overdrive audiobook in mp3 format onto the storage card, to see how my reader would work doing "double duty": okay but not optimal.

The new album format displays each book under "audio" by thumbnail, followed by a list of parts (instead of music tracks) to tap. In one sense, it's set up better for books than music, in that the progress bar (time elapsed) isn't as important for a music track than for a book; for single-file (hours long) Net Library books, this feature would be even more useful; it did resume nicely where I'd left off.

Two things made me give up after an hour's listen.

1) The reader was just too bulky to work with listening on the bus, etc.

2) I found I developed a mental block against using it for both. I felt guilty that I wasn't reading an e-book instead, as that was what I paid $200 for ... I already have three perfectly good audio devices!

Battery remained at four bars, and I'd had some e-reading since the previous charge as well. I was slightly impressed as I'd thought there'd have been more drain.

That having been said, I do keep some spoken audio material on the storage card - just in case I find myself either not being able to, or wanting to, read print material.

I would recommend folks who aren't (as) familiar with audiobooks, and would like to try one, say at home, or at the end of the day on a trip, etc. check out the feature, before committing to buying an mp3 player.

patomonk · 12-21-2010, 01:59 AM

Thanks for the review!

injapan · 12-21-2010, 02:54 AM

Thanks

SeaBookGuy · 12-21-2010, 11:32 AM

Glad you found it helpful.

Librivox public domain books would work especially well as they're divided into smaller chapters, generally well under an hour - just be sure to load the mp3 files, not the mp4b(?) masterfiles of the complete book, which I don't think would work.

catsknit · 12-23-2010, 11:05 PM

My sony 650 is wrapped under the tree waiting until Dec 25

so I can't check this myself. Can you play an audiobook at the same time as having an e-book open, and does it slow down the page turns, etc.? The reason I ask is that I have a dyslexic son who uses audiobooks a lot for schoolwork, but I have him read along in the print book whenever possible. It would be great to have both on one device, esp b/c the e-reader text size can be increased, which is a plus for him.

Bookworm_Girl · 12-23-2010, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Glad you found it helpful.
Librivox public domain books would work especially well as they're divided into smaller chapters, generally well under an hour - just be sure to load the mp3 files, not the mp4b(?) masterfiles of the complete book, which I don't think would work.

Thanks for the review, SeaBookGuy! The info on battery was helpful. Also thanks for the tip on librivox. I just looked up their website. Do you recommend this website? Are the books pleasing to the ear and well narrated? I typically get my audiobooks from my local eLibrary.

SeaBookGuy · 12-24-2010, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catsknit

My sony 650 is wrapped under the tree waiting until Dec 25

so I can't check this myself. Can you play an audiobook at the same time as having an e-book open, and does it slow down the page turns, etc.? The reason I ask is that I have a dyslexic son who uses audiobooks a lot for schoolwork, but I have him read along in the print book whenever possible. It would be great to have both on one device, esp b/c the e-reader text size can be increased, which is a plus for him.

Yes, you can listen to the book and read the text at the same time. I'm not sure whether it slows the page turns, but I'd highly doubt it. You must bear in mind that the Sony only plays mp3 (and AAC) format audio. In your case, I'd suggest a separate audio player, with his reading along on the e-reader. I recently got a Sansa Clip+ and love it, but I think the Fuze's larger display might be better for him to work with.

I've been into audiobooks for a long time, and have a fair amount of experience, so please don't hesitate to let me know if I can help you to fine tune that combination!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Thanks for the review, SeaBookGuy! The info on battery was helpful. Also thanks for the tip on librivox. I just looked up their website. Do you recommend this website? Are the books pleasing to the ear and well narrated? I typically get my audiobooks from my local eLibrary.

I have tried listening to a librivox novel once, and gave up not because of the reading, but the story just wasn't what I'd hoped for (Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour by R. S. Surtees). I have another of theirs all nicely formatted, ready to go on a trip that requires a longer book: Uncle Silas by Sheridan Lefanu -- which I'm confident I'll finish.

I'm not certain I'd use the Sony for a full-length book, although I could see reading part of LeFanu on it. Instead, I have some stories and a novella by Edith Wharton (mp3 format Overdrive audios), and the stories from James Joyce's collection "Dubliners" (ripped from CD's) on the Sony, for audio "quick fixes" as it were.

catsknit · 12-24-2010, 04:46 PM

Thanks for clarifying that. I do listen to a lot of audiobooks myself and have a Sansa clip currently, which I love. My son has an iPod Nano he uses for audiobooks. We get most of our audiobooks either from Audible, Overdrive, netlibrary or ripped from CDs so all but the Audible are in mp3 format. I was just thinking having both the audio and text on one device might be less for him to keep up with on vacation, etc. At home he could still use both devices.

As far as Librivox, I've listened to a lot of their books with mixed results. They are all narrated by volunteers, and sometimes several different people do one book, b/c they work by chapters. So it can be hit or miss; you get some great readers and some not-so-great. But it's free, so you aren't losing anything by trying them. It's only books in the public domain, like project Gutenberg, but I read a lot of classics anyway so it's good for me.

SeaBookGuy · 12-24-2010, 05:13 PM

Please bear in mind that library books must be mp3 format to listen on a Sony -- no WMA's!

12-16-2010, 02:15 AM	#1
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	650 and Audiobooks: a review As a test, I dragged an Overdrive audiobook in mp3 format onto the storage card, to see how my reader would work doing "double duty": okay but not optimal. The new album format displays each book under "audio" by thumbnail, followed by a list of parts (instead of music tracks) to tap. In one sense, it's set up better for books than music, in that the progress bar (time elapsed) isn't as important for a music track than for a book; for single-file (hours long) Net Library books, this feature would be even more useful; it did resume nicely where I'd left off. Two things made me give up after an hour's listen. 1) The reader was just too bulky to work with listening on the bus, etc. 2) I found I developed a mental block against using it for both. I felt guilty that I wasn't reading an e-book instead, as that was what I paid $200 for ... I already have three perfectly good audio devices! Battery remained at four bars, and I'd had some e-reading since the previous charge as well. I was slightly impressed as I'd thought there'd have been more drain. That having been said, I do keep some spoken audio material on the storage card - just in case I find myself either not being able to, or wanting to, read print material. I would recommend folks who aren't (as) familiar with audiobooks, and would like to try one, say at home, or at the end of the day on a trip, etc. check out the feature, before committing to buying an mp3 player.

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12-21-2010, 01:59 AM	#2
patomonk Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 400 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: U.S.A Device: PRS-950	Thanks for the review!

12-21-2010, 02:54 AM	#3
injapan Addict Posts: 228 Karma: 1030816 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Japan Device: iPhone 11, Kobo Arua 2 and iPad Air 3	Thanks

12-21-2010, 11:32 AM	#4
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	Glad you found it helpful. Librivox public domain books would work especially well as they're divided into smaller chapters, generally well under an hour - just be sure to load the mp3 files, not the mp4b(?) masterfiles of the complete book, which I don't think would work.

12-23-2010, 11:05 PM	#5
catsknit Addict Posts: 221 Karma: 34036 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Samsung tablet, Kobo Libra, InkPad 3 Pro	My sony 650 is wrapped under the tree waiting until Dec 25 so I can't check this myself. Can you play an audiobook at the same time as having an e-book open, and does it slow down the page turns, etc.? The reason I ask is that I have a dyslexic son who uses audiobooks a lot for schoolwork, but I have him read along in the print book whenever possible. It would be great to have both on one device, esp b/c the e-reader text size can be increased, which is a plus for him.

12-24-2010, 04:46 PM	#8
catsknit Addict Posts: 221 Karma: 34036 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Samsung tablet, Kobo Libra, InkPad 3 Pro	Thanks for clarifying that. I do listen to a lot of audiobooks myself and have a Sansa clip currently, which I love. My son has an iPod Nano he uses for audiobooks. We get most of our audiobooks either from Audible, Overdrive, netlibrary or ripped from CDs so all but the Audible are in mp3 format. I was just thinking having both the audio and text on one device might be less for him to keep up with on vacation, etc. At home he could still use both devices. As far as Librivox, I've listened to a lot of their books with mixed results. They are all narrated by volunteers, and sometimes several different people do one book, b/c they work by chapters. So it can be hit or miss; you get some great readers and some not-so-great. But it's free, so you aren't losing anything by trying them. It's only books in the public domain, like project Gutenberg, but I read a lot of classics anyway so it's good for me.

12-24-2010, 05:13 PM	#9
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	Please bear in mind that library books must be mp3 format to listen on a Sony -- no WMA's!

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