When is an audiobook not your mother’s audiobook? When it is a solid state, battery-powered, audio player with static content called a Playaway from Findawayworld, LLC.. The Playaway is a tapered box with a content label on one side and player controls on the reverse. On one side is a mini audio jack while the battery bay on the adjacent wide bottom edge. When you get the device you pull the tab that allows the battery to connect, plug in the provided headphones, and you’re off! No player device or anything else needed. Instant satisfaction.
The Playaway’s controls consist of a playing time display surrounded by a volume button (repeated presses increase the volume until it rolls over the maximum and resets to the lowest level), a voice speed button (increases the rate of playback again up to maximum and then straight to minimum level), a bookmark button (you can set up to 50 of them), skip forward and backward buttons (jump to the next or last chapter or bookmark), and a power-on/play/pause/power-off button. So, what’s it like to use? First of all the buttons are a little odd as they don’t use the conventional symbols for controlling a CD or DVD player. Second, you’ll want to get better headphones — the ones that come with are really poor quality. Third, don’t expect hi-fi — the content is highly compressed so the playback is noticeably clipped at times. Criticisms aside, there’s a big market for this technology. The “books” are smaller and more robust than tapes which should appeal to lending libraries and although the user interface is a little awkward and, dare I say it, rather counterintuitive at first it is easy enough to learn. Pricing of individual titles is generally reasonable, with some priced the same as the tape version and others either more or less expensive for reasons that aren’t clear. The bottom line is that Playaway audio books should sell well and with Christmas coming up, they are an easy way to simplify geek gift buying.
