

If you don't use your credit that month, it just rolls over to the next one, so you don't lose it - although you're limited to a maximum of six credits in the bank. If the book will cost less than $14.95, you can opt to pay for it directly during checkout and save the credit for something else. And if you decide that you don't like the book, you can exchange it for another one "at any time," for free. This is handy if you don't have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.Ĭredit system is generous: While you pay up to $14.95 a month to get one audiobook credit, it can be used on any book, regardless of price.

This enlarges a few key controls - the play/pause button, a 30-second rewind, and a bookmark (referred to as a "clip" within the app) so that they're easier to press when you have your phone mounted on your dashboard. Last but not least, we'll call out the car mode. If you want to shop while you wait, there's a Discover tab accessible from a button on the bottom of the screen, and the Channels tab that contains a variety of free original podcasts, from stand-up comedy recorded live to a documentary series on a Mexican border town besieged by a drug cartel. We noticed that the downloads were not fast, but you can begin listening after you've gotten just a few megabytes.

It defaults to sorting by the most recently purchased audiobook. You can sort books by length, title, and the author's name. If you tap on other books, they will get queued up to download in sequence (as opposed to all at the same time). To download it, just tap on the book cover, at which point the app will tell you the size of the file. With each book listed, you can see who narrates the audiobook and how long the recording is. The app is straightforward and well-designed: When you first open the Audible app, it will go straight to the list of audiobooks in your cloud. How does it compare to rivals like Downpour and Barnes & Noble? Pros You can buy audiobooks directly, and you can sign up for a subscription starting at $14.95 a month with a free 30-day trial, which grants you a credit every month to buy any book in the catalog, plus other perks. As of 2018, the service claims over 200,000 audio programs across books, magazines, newspapers, and other media. Audible is Amazon's audiobook division, acquired in 2008 for a cool $300 million.
