Is it Audible, can I hear it now?

I signed up for an Audible.com account. Audible sells audiobooks, which can be played on your computer, transferred to a portable media player, like an iPod, or burned to CD and played on a standard CD or DVD player.

I like listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks. I do not have much free time for reading books but I have time to listen. There is an unlimited amount of digital audio available today. You can rip audio files from CDs. There are numerous free podcasts. Vendors, such as Amazon or the iTunes store allow you to buy and download music files. Services like Rhapsody or Napster rent music files. You can listen to audio streaming across the internet via services such as Last.fm, Pandora.com or the myriad streams on the internet.

Audiobooks are poorly represented on the internet, at the bookstore or the public library. Audiobooks are a small subset of printed books. Most public libraries lend audiobooks on tape or CD. Many public libraries participate in a free audiobook download service, but it only works with Windows computers and is not compatible with iPods. So if you want audiobooks on your iPod you either rip your own files or use Audible.

The initial Audible setup to listen to audiobooks on Windows is quite involved. You need to set up a user account. Decide which subscription plan, if any, appeals to you, charge it to your credit card, and download two different Audible applications to your computer. You may need to install special software on your portable media player, if it is compatible. You then download the book(s) from Audible and copy it to your iPod or other portable player. Not all portable media players are compatible. Macs do not need any additional software beyond iTunes.

Subscribing was a problem for me. The user name I wanted was taken. Instead of allowing me to change to something else, they changed it for me. Then they screwed up my credit card. This required calls to Audible customer service, American Express and then back to Audible. I then was confronted with not knowing the password they had assigned. I had to make another call to Audible because the online password reset system continually failed. This took the better part of an hour and I still had not downloaded anything.

Next, I had to download and install the Audible Download Manager and their player software, AudibleManager. I then downloaded my first book, three Audible files that use a proprietary format. I also downloaded and installed player software for my BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry software did not work for me. I had to figure out how to convert the Audible files into MP3s that I could put on the BlackBerry. The process took several hours and ended up with 200 MP3 files, using 1.7GB. This process is not for the technologically challenged.

The first book I downloaded was the unabridged Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. The audio runs for about 21 hours 25 minutes. The total download was 300MB. I have not finished listening yet.

The CD version of the book costs $23.07 at Amazon.com, plus shipping. The non-member Audible version costs $31.47. There are various Audible subscription plans, Gold or Platinum, monthly or annual. The lowest average price for a book is the Annual Platinum plan, which is $9.56. Amazon owns Audible.

Audible’s files are filled with DRM. I do not like DRM. This makes it hard, if not impossible, for us to listen to their audiobooks when and where we want. Based upon the publishers’ requirement for DRM on Audible books I cannot recommend the service. It is too difficult. It is easier to buy the CD version and rip it. I am hopeful that the publishers will recognize, as the music industry has, that DRM is self-defeating. Until then audiobooks downloads will remain a small, niche market.