Portable device for listening to audio books?

[Kirsten in MO]

I am looking for suggestions on what to buy to download and listen to audio books in the car, etc. I am so techno illiterate...I know nothing about all the mp3 players or other devices that people use for things. I don't own a fancy phone, just one of those old trac phones. I think something that would make it easy to access chapters and start and stop without loosing my place...any suggestions?

 

Thanks so much!

Kirsten (the techno dinosaur)

[Mrs Mungo]

Just about any MP3 player with a display. The iPod shuffle lacks a display and the ability to easily move between songs (or chapters). But, any other iPod would work. Apple usually has certified refurbished iPods on their website for a very reasonable price.

[Marylou]

Just about any MP3 player with a display. The iPod shuffle lacks a display and the ability to easily move between songs (or chapters). But, any other iPod would work. Apple usually has certified refurbished iPods on their website for a very reasonable price.

 

On Friday I bought a refurb 4th gen black one on the Apple site for $129 w/ free shipping

[Alessandra]

:lurk5:

[Occasionally]

My big kids each have a Sansa Fuze mp3. I fill it up with free stories from Librivox.

[redsquirrel]

my boys use their iPods. Depending on your car, there is often a way to plug the iPod into the sound system and listen to it over the car's speakers.

 

Or if your car has a CD player you can always buy audio books on CD and just use those. Or download an Mp3 and burn it to disc and play it on the car's CD player.

[Kirsten in MO]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I will do a search on the Sansa Fuze and will see what kind of deal I can find on a used iPod...I very much appreciate you ladies taking the time to help me out! :-)

 

~Kirsten

[melbotoast]

I have a Sansa Clip that is great. It's survived being washed and still going strong. Much cheaper than an iPod too :)

[Kirsten in MO]

Thanks, melbotoast! I will add that to my research list as well.

[Mom-ninja.]

My vote is for Sansa. You can't go wrong. Much easier to use and figure out than an iPod. I have both and much prefer the Sansa. With Sansa you don't have to go through iTunes or iLibrary.....I hate both.

 

I listen to library audio books. There are some books that are not available in mp3 format and I have to use the iPod. There might be a way to convert it to mp3 but that's beyond my understanding.

[natjen05]

My vote is for Sansa. You can't go wrong. Much easier to use and figure out than an iPod. I have both and much prefer the Sansa. With Sansa you don't have to go through iTunes or iLibrary.....I hate both.

 

I listen to library audio books. There are some books that are not available in mp3 format and I have to use the iPod. There might be a way to convert it to mp3 but that's beyond my understanding.

 

You can find that type of stuff on the internet. Just search for convert ____ to mp3. Depending on what the other formatting is put where the blank is. There are tons of ways :)

[Alessandra]

My vote is for Sansa. You can't go wrong. Much easier to use and figure out than an iPod. I have both and much prefer the Sansa. With Sansa you don't have to go through iTunes or iLibrary.....I hate both.

 

I listen to library audio books. There are some books that are not available in mp3 format and I have to use the iPod. There might be a way to convert it to mp3 but that's beyond my understanding.

 

Which Sansa do you like? We have an iPod Classic, but I wouldn't mind something less expensive for dc to keep in their rooms.

 

Do you happen to know if you can xfer easily from a Mac (iTunes) to a non- Mac device?

[Mom-ninja.]

I have a Sansa Clip. I think any of them would be great.

 

Sorry, I don't know anything about doing a xfer. I'm sure it's not difficult once one knows what to do.

[natjen05]

Which Sansa do you like? We have an iPod Classic, but I wouldn't mind something less expensive for dc to keep in their rooms.

 

Do you happen to know if you can xfer easily from a Mac (iTunes) to a non- Mac device?

 

 

I have been able to change from the itunes to just regular mp3 with my stuff. From a site that I found. If you google or search with whatever engine "Convert Itunes to mp3" you should find a way to do it. I don't know what format the books need to be for the Sansa (haven't heard of it). But if you look that up (search "what format does Sansa use") then you can find a converter that will help you out.

 

And that way you can still use stuff that you had previously and not have to buy it again :)

[sunriseiz]

I have a Sansa Fuze that I like. DH got a deal on it for Christmas a couple of years ago and it's still working fine. I use iTunes and I can't think of anything that I haven't been able to convert to mp3. I mostly listen to audiobooks that I check out from the library or get from Librivox.

 

Oh, also, I eventually got an FM transmitter so I can listen in the car...pretty great imo!

 

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Fuze-Video-Player/dp/B0015L451I

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-FMT4-tuneIN-Universal-Transmitter/dp/B004NEUK86/ref=sr_1_29?s=mp3&ie=UTF8&qid=1354730043&sr=1-29

[happypamama]

Sansa Clip or Fuze -- we have both and like them a lot. Don't get the Coby ones; they didn't work well at all for us and were returned. I think the Clip is easier to use, but the Fuze is bigger and less likely to get lost. (The Clip also charges with a normal USB cord, the same one my camera and e-reader use, so that's nice; the Fuze has a special USB cord.)

 

Our cars are all too old to have mp3 ports, so in the one that only has a CD player, we use an FM transmitter to hear the mp3 player. DH says it's annoying, though, that there's a background noise with it. In our cars that have cassette decks, we use a cassette adapter, and that is quieter and less finicky.