Comments on: Review: Audible for BlackBerry – An Excercise in Frustration http://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/ Everyone can understand technology; sometimes it just takes a little translating. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:34:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kariatohttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-48541 kariato Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:23:02 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-48541 Thank you. You are correct. I'll have to convert them to MP3. I appreciate your help. Thank you. You are correct. I’ll have to convert them to MP3. I appreciate your help.

]]> By: Jason Reesehttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-48538 Jason Reese Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:24:08 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-48538 @kariato - unfortunately, even though you can install the app without requiring a data plan, the application *does* require a data plan to download or stream audio books from audible. If you have an audible account, and a 'Berry with no data plan, then the best bet is to to use the Audible desktop software to convert to MP3 and then just use mass storage mode on your 'Berry. Then you can play using the device's stock music player. @kariato – unfortunately, even though you can install the app without requiring a data plan, the application *does* require a data plan to download or stream audio books from audible. If you have an audible account, and a ‘Berry with no data plan, then the best bet is to to use the Audible desktop software to convert to MP3 and then just use mass storage mode on your ‘Berry. Then you can play using the device’s stock music player.

]]> By: kariatohttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-48514 kariato Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:58:23 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-48514 I used the following technique to install audible application and it still try to active over the network. http://blackberryrocks.com/how-to-install-applications-themes-with-without-ota-data/#ota_nodata. Just gives an error. I used the following technique to install audible application and it still try to active over the network. http://blackberryrocks.com/how-to-install-applications-themes-with-without-ota-data/#ota_nodata. Just gives an error.

]]> By: kariatohttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-48160 kariato Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:51:11 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-48160 If you don't have a data plan then this application is useless since they don't distribute the application except by the web and not as an ALX file. Very frustrating even with emails (3) to customer support. Audible Device manager see my it needs the application. Totally useless. If you don’t have a data plan then this application is useless since they don’t distribute the application except by the web and not as an ALX file. Very frustrating even with emails (3) to customer support. Audible Device manager see my it needs the application. Totally useless.

]]> By: Jason Reesehttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45410 Jason Reese Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:50:26 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45410 Update: I'm not sure this is entirely worthy of a *new* post, but this will touch upon some of the points from the original review. YMMV, but this was my own experience. I tested the application using a BlackBerry Bold (9000) and a BlackBerry Curve (8310). I had the same results on both models, so that seemed to adequately rule out any hardware-related problem. Neither the Bold nor the Curve would download the audiobook to the device's microSD card or stream the audiobook. To ensure there was not a possible memory issue on the devices, I removed applications from both the Bold and the Curve. Unfortunately, I had the result -- no streaming or downloading. Reading the comments, it was easy to see that this was not a widespread problem. I tried another OS on the Bold (I was using 4.6.0.167 and decided to downgrade back to 4.5 to see if there was any improvement); but still experienced the same problems. After confirming this, I went ahead and upgraded my Bold OS back to 4.6. The app remained slow to respond on both the Curve (EDGE) and Bold, which had a full-strength 3G connection. So carrier network did not seem to be causing any issue. I noted in my review that the Audible app for BlackBerry was not recognizing my original Audible account (username/password), even after verifying the same credentials worked on a laptop. I ended up creating a new acct to conduct the application review -- but the same problems (not able to stream/download the audiobook) persisted. Finally, I decided to create another (this was my third) acct with Audible just to re-attempt streaming and downloading. Voila! I was now getting the option to download the audiobook to microSD, and to stream. I tested both options, and while they worked, the application was still sluggish to respond IMHO. But, I finally had the functionality to stream or download the content. It took me creating a third separate accounts to make it work My first, "regular" audible account still will not play nice with the BB app -- even though I've used the "regular" version on my laptop without issue. Note that the 2nd and 3rd accts were created straight on the BlackBerry (new username). The 2nd failed, but the third succeeded. These two usernames were different by one numeric character. Unless the system prefers 3's to a 2 in a username, I don't think it was the characters selected :) That was my personal experience and 0.02 :) Update: I’m not sure this is entirely worthy of a *new* post, but this will touch upon some of the points from the original review. YMMV, but this was my own experience.

I tested the application using a BlackBerry Bold (9000) and a BlackBerry Curve (8310). I had the same results on both models, so that seemed to adequately rule out any hardware-related problem. Neither the Bold nor the Curve would download the audiobook to the device’s microSD card or stream the audiobook.

To ensure there was not a possible memory issue on the devices, I removed applications from both the Bold and the Curve. Unfortunately, I had the result — no streaming or downloading. Reading the comments, it was easy to see that this was not a widespread problem.

I tried another OS on the Bold (I was using 4.6.0.167 and decided to downgrade back to 4.5 to see if there was any improvement); but still experienced the same problems. After confirming this, I went ahead and upgraded my Bold OS back to 4.6.

The app remained slow to respond on both the Curve (EDGE) and Bold, which had a full-strength 3G connection. So carrier network did not seem to be causing any issue.

I noted in my review that the Audible app for BlackBerry was not recognizing my original Audible account (username/password), even after verifying the same credentials worked on a laptop. I ended up creating a new acct to conduct the application review — but the same problems (not able to stream/download the audiobook) persisted.

Finally, I decided to create another (this was my third) acct with Audible just to re-attempt streaming and downloading. Voila! I was now getting the option to download the audiobook to microSD, and to stream. I tested both options, and while they worked, the application was still sluggish to respond IMHO. But, I finally had the functionality to stream or download the content. It took me creating a third separate accounts to make it work

My first, “regular” audible account still will not play nice with the BB app — even though I’ve used the “regular” version on my laptop without issue. Note that the 2nd and 3rd accts were created straight on the BlackBerry (new username). The 2nd failed, but the third succeeded. These two usernames were different by one numeric character. Unless the system prefers 3′s to a 2 in a username, I don’t think it was the characters selected :)

That was my personal experience and 0.02 :)

]]> By: danieloneilhttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45301 danieloneil Sun, 31 May 2009 02:39:24 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45301 Your title captures the problem with the player perfectly. I'm a long time Audible listening. I recently switched from the Treo to a BB Bold and was amazed at how bad the Audible player was. I figured that it was in beta and would improve with the full version. I agree with your positive points and your complaint that it is incredibly slow. I would add to the complaints the following: 1. Bizarre use of buttons on the home page: 95% of the time, I open the program in order to continue playing a book that I had previously loaded into the player. Instead of offering me a big button to go the player, there are buttons to go to the online library,the online bookstore, or the online free library. Instead I have to click through the menu to "local library" and then pick my book from the list of books. Why make it so hard to listen to the books? 2. Once I finally get into the player, the interface is again badly designed. The text showing my place in the book is so small that I can hardly read it even with my reading glasses. There is no way to see where you are in the book--only where you are in your current section. To skip forward to your place in the book (after it has been lost, as frequently happens), you can only advance forward one section at a time. I miss my Treo! Dan O'Neil www.danieloneil.com Your title captures the problem with the player perfectly. I’m a long time Audible listening. I recently switched from the Treo to a BB Bold and was amazed at how bad the Audible player was. I figured that it was in beta and would improve with the full version. I agree with your positive points and your complaint that it is incredibly slow. I would add to the complaints the following:

1. Bizarre use of buttons on the home page: 95% of the time, I open the program in order to continue playing a book that I had previously loaded into the player. Instead of offering me a big button to go the player, there are buttons to go to the online library,the online bookstore, or the online free library. Instead I have to click through the menu to “local library” and then pick my book from the list of books. Why make it so hard to listen to the books?
2. Once I finally get into the player, the interface is again badly designed. The text showing my place in the book is so small that I can hardly read it even with my reading glasses. There is no way to see where you are in the book–only where you are in your current section. To skip forward to your place in the book (after it has been lost, as frequently happens), you can only advance forward one section at a time.
I miss my Treo!

Dan O’Neil
http://www.danieloneil.com

]]> By: Jason Reesehttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45290 Jason Reese Sat, 30 May 2009 02:40:35 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45290 Using Bold -- and also tested with Curve 8310 There may be a brief follow-up re: Audible for BB in the coming days if there is interest. Using Bold — and also tested with Curve 8310

There may be a brief follow-up re: Audible for BB in the coming days if there is interest.

]]> By: Banjohttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45279 Banjo Fri, 29 May 2009 17:58:47 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45279 Sorry to say, Audible will nbot work correctly on your Storm. It will not bookmark your spot correctly and forward/rewind function is not likely to work. Sorry to say, Audible will nbot work correctly on your Storm. It will not bookmark your spot correctly and forward/rewind function is not likely to work.

]]> By: Jason Reesehttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45235 Jason Reese Wed, 27 May 2009 14:36:41 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45235 @mobileguy: Thank You for the comment and especially the suggestions noted for the Audible BB App. Sadly, I'm afraid Mass Storage Mode wasn't turned on when I was using the application :(. I'm still not getting any options to stream the content, either. Since this is a case of "YMMV" ...I'm going to test on another device today (I've had to hold off a few days as I've been trying out a diff OS and separate devices) to see if I can get a different result. Update to follow... @mobileguy: Thank You for the comment and especially the suggestions noted for the Audible BB App.

Sadly, I’m afraid Mass Storage Mode wasn’t turned on when I was using the application :( . I’m still not getting any options to stream the content, either. Since this is a case of “YMMV” …I’m going to test on another device today (I’ve had to hold off a few days as I’ve been trying out a diff OS and separate devices) to see if I can get a different result.

Update to follow…

]]> By: mobileguyhttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45203 mobileguy Mon, 25 May 2009 23:00:13 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45203 It looks like the default option on my Bold is for the Audible content to be saved to the SD Card (when it's inserted that's where it goes, when I remove it it goes to the native memory). Perhaps you have Mass Storage Mode turned on your device (or are maybe even using the app while you're plugged into the PC so that you can take screenshots?) Maybe a long-shot, but I wonder if using the app with mass storage mode turned off or without the USB cable in might make a difference. Also, in re: to streaming, once you purchase something and click the arrow in the "My Library" i'm given the option to Stream or Download before moving forward. The streaming doesn't have any navigation to it, which is frustrating... but I do believe that the option to choose is there! It looks like the default option on my Bold is for the Audible content to be saved to the SD Card (when it’s inserted that’s where it goes, when I remove it it goes to the native memory). Perhaps you have Mass Storage Mode turned on your device (or are maybe even using the app while you’re plugged into the PC so that you can take screenshots?) Maybe a long-shot, but I wonder if using the app with mass storage mode turned off or without the USB cable in might make a difference.

Also, in re: to streaming, once you purchase something and click the arrow in the “My Library” i’m given the option to Stream or Download before moving forward. The streaming doesn’t have any navigation to it, which is frustrating… but I do believe that the option to choose is there!

]]> By: Jason Reesehttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45089 Jason Reese Thu, 21 May 2009 20:51:58 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45089 @chrispepin: I'm very glad to see the Audible BB app is working fine on your device. I tried again after removing some more apps on my Bold, and (sadly) I encountered the same issues that caused me not to be too thrilled first-round. I'll try to test out on a different BlackBerry model and diff OS and see if I find any difference -- If so, I'll be happy to post an update with the outcome. Thank you for posting the positive experience you're having (that was something I really wanted to see in the comments). @rreifsnider: I'm in the same boat. For the time being, I'm finding it easier to just manually copy content to the SD card...or, as you stated, just use the iPhone/iTunes for audiobooks. I just happen to be one of those folks who usually has their BB with them opposed to iPhone...yes, I know...odd man out ;) @chrispepin: I’m very glad to see the Audible BB app is working fine on your device. I tried again after removing some more apps on my Bold, and (sadly) I encountered the same issues that caused me not to be too thrilled first-round. I’ll try to test out on a different BlackBerry model and diff OS and see if I find any difference — If so, I’ll be happy to post an update with the outcome. Thank you for posting the positive experience you’re having (that was something I really wanted to see in the comments).

@rreifsnider: I’m in the same boat. For the time being, I’m finding it easier to just manually copy content to the SD card…or, as you stated, just use the iPhone/iTunes for audiobooks. I just happen to be one of those folks who usually has their BB with them opposed to iPhone…yes, I know…odd man out ;)

]]> By: reesemachinehttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-69658 reesemachine Thu, 21 May 2009 13:23:51 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-69658 <span class="topsy_trackback_comment"><span class="topsy_twitter_username"><span class="topsy_trackback_content">Audible for BB Review - http://tinyurl.com/p8zvqc</span></span> Audible for BB Review – http://tinyurl.com/p8zvqc

]]> By: rreifsniderhttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45069 rreifsnider Thu, 21 May 2009 12:42:13 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45069 I had similar problems when using Audible on my Nokia E71. Initially, I used a longer and somewhat complicated password for my Audible account. I could never authenticate the Audible app until I changed my password to something shorter and less complicated. I tried OTA downloads of Audible content but eventually gave up. I found that copying Audible books to the micro sd card on the Nokia the easiest way to get content. I eventually gave up on instant gratification. I've found that the best Audible experience for me is on my iPhone. I'm still waiting on a solution for the T-Mobile G1. I had similar problems when using Audible on my Nokia E71. Initially, I used a longer and somewhat complicated password for my Audible account. I could never authenticate the Audible app until I changed my password to something shorter and less complicated. I tried OTA downloads of Audible content but eventually gave up. I found that copying Audible books to the micro sd card on the Nokia the easiest way to get content. I eventually gave up on instant gratification. I’ve found that the best Audible experience for me is on my iPhone. I’m still waiting on a solution for the T-Mobile G1.

]]> By: chrispepinhttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45068 chrispepin Thu, 21 May 2009 11:35:48 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45068 In minutes I was listening to my Audible collection. No problems whatsoever. Great application In minutes I was listening to my Audible collection. No problems whatsoever. Great application

]]> By: Wayne Schulzhttp://www.geardiary.com/2009/05/21/review-audible-for-blackberry-an-excercise-in-frustration/#comment-45065 Wayne Schulz Thu, 21 May 2009 10:10:17 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=30265#comment-45065 I don't have any recent experience with Audible though I did try them several years and remember at the time finding the DRM frustrating. I don’t have any recent experience with Audible though I did try them several years and remember at the time finding the DRM frustrating.

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