This morning, I awoke to find this email in my inbox: “Congratulations! This is your invitation to the beta test for Audible for Android. You are receiving this email because you’ve expressed interest in an Audible application for Android phones in the past.”
What is Audible you ask? Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks, magazines, radio shows, stand-up comedy, and speeches available for purchase. The prices can be competitive to other outlets, if you’re not a subscribing member. If you do subscribe to a monthly plan, then the prices are really competitive. Plans start at $14.95 per month ($7.49 for the first month) and you get one credit (aka one audiobook). A yearly subscription will cost you $149.50 and you’ll get all 12 credits up front. Some audiobooks (the old .aa format) are not compatible with the app (see screenshot below).
The build that I installed was B3/.136, so apparently the test has been going on for some time now. So far, I haven’t been able to get the app to work on my Hero. After reading some of the support group discussion, I’ve realized that Hero owners are not having a good time. It works just fine on the HTC EVO4G. Also, this version does not allow users to purchase books from their device. You have to buy online, and sync later. This isn’t much of an issues, as you can shop on Audible.com from your device.
The beta test currently supports Android 1.5 and above and they’ve been testing it on a several devices. According to their website, the app will be available in “Summer 2010″. I’ll keep you posted as new versions are released.
Here are some screenshots.
