Listen to Audio Books on Your PDA
Find MP3 Files on the Internet to Download to a Handheld Device
Modern PDA's offer the facility to play MP3 files, thus making them a good alternative to an MP3 player, as they play audio - but also offer so much more!
In addition to music - the ability to play MP3's means that you can also listen to the spoken word on your PDA - for instance audio-books. The great thing about listening to an MP3 on your PDA is that you can also browse the internet, check emails or even write notes on what you are listening to all whilst being as far away from your office or computer as you desire.
There are many music and audio players available for PDA's, for instance PTunes (Pocket Tunes), which not only plays music and audio files, but also plays internet radio on your WiFi handheld device.
There are a large number of audio books available for your PDA - as with e-books, some are readings of works in the public domain, others are brand new bestsellers. One of the best known audio-book providers is Audible.com, who have a massive selection, ranging from the latest best seller to classics, language courses, children’s books- and even podcasts (such as the fabulous Ricky Gervais podcast). Audible audio-books are available to purchase from the site either as a one off purchase or as part of a subscription, whereby you pay a fixed amount each month and you are then able to choose a certain number of books monthly.
For those of us who enjoy free things, the Internet also provides a rich selection of free audio-book titles for your PDA. These are typically readings of books that are out of copyright and in the public domain. This provides listeners with some fantastic options as classics such as Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, books by Mark Twain and many others that all fall within this category.
One very exciting initiative is LibriVox.org, a scheme whereby volunteers from around the world opt to read and record a title of a book that is in the public domain. These are then available to download in mp3 format for your PDA. Whilst it might seem a little strange listening to a book where every chapter is read by a different person and in a myriad of accents – the shear accessibility of such a wide and diverse range of books more than balances any concerns. The books available range from Aesop’s Fables to WB Yeats.
Another great source of free audio books for your PDA is FreeAudioBooks.com. This site, again, offers a wide range of free literature. Most of the titles are in the public domain and again consists of many of the classics. Whilst the basic service here remains free, these are often low resolution recordings and there is a small charge should you want to download a better quality recording.
When downloading audio-books for your PDA it is best to download to your memory or storage card rather than use up your device’s precious memory. This way you can start to build up a large selection of audio-books to replay whenever or wherever you like!
Investigate what is available and make sure you are making maximum use of that small yet powerful PDA device. For more information about things to do with your PDA see this Suite101 article.
