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Saturday, February 09, 2008

Playaway

I've mentioned from time to time that I enjoy listening to audiobooks. I often have one playing in the car. The limitation, of course, is that you have to have access to some kind of player. And you can't, as far as I know, easily transfer a CD or MP3 book to an iPod, for example. Well maybe you can - but it's an extra step that I've never tried to figure out. Especially since I don't even have an iPod.

Our library has just started buying audio books in this new self-contained format called "Playaway". I had to buy the earpod thing for $2 (after experimenting with a little giveaway headset from an airplane that didn't seem to work), but otherwise, that's it. Book and player combined in one tiny lightweight package. I'm giving the system a trial run with Life of Pi.

So far, I'm liking it! There's something about the way the sound goes straight into your head, as compared to traveling through "air" from a speaker - even ones as nearby as the ones in the car - that increases concentration. I'm not sure why this is, but I suspect it's something that iPod users already know about.


1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the mention! Playaways are offered in over 5,000 libraries across the US and the UK. You can also find the best selection of our titles at www.playawaydigital.com for direct purchase. We're glad you're enjoying our product. Please let us know if there is any further information you'd like to know!

1:50 PM  

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