I downloaded the beta of the Audible app for my Android phone. I am running a Sprint Hero by HTC that has been upgraded to 2.2 Cupcake.  Overall, I am impressed, but I had been waiting so long for this capability that it would have been difficult to make me upset.

The installation wasn’t overly difficult.  It was not yet available on the marketplace when I installed it, but a barcode scanner and the page I was sent to after joining the Google group made it easy to get started.  I did have to change the setting on my phone that allows me to install applications from sources other than the marketplace, but this setting came right up during the install process.  I was a bit concerned about space since the 2.2 operating system is supposed to leave only a small amount of space for applications left on the Hero.  I would have preferred it took advantage of the new version to install to my SD Card.  It did however fit on with the other “necessary” apps I have on my phones.

Initial setup was very easy.  I simply input my user ID and password and it went looking to the main Audible website for my library.  I began downloading the first book to the device in moments.

The application currently only supports the Enhanced Format and this is my only real complaint.  The files generated by this format are over twice the size of Format 4 and four times the size of Format 3.  My untrained ear doesn’t notice a big enough difference between Format 3 and the Enhanced to warrant the extra space requirement, or more importantly the extra time it takes to download that large a file.  I was unable to download a full file from the 3G service near the Plaza in Kansas City, but my home Wi-Fi was able to get them just fine.  The 241 GB file took roughly half an hour.  The good news is that I didn’t have to wait for the whole file to download before I began playing it.  This meant I could listen to the book on my way home, and then download it completely once I was there.  Still, I think supporting other formats would go a long way to increasing the usability of the service while traveling.

The application loads relatively quickly, compared to other apps I use, and it does a great job of keeping my place even after the phone has been turned off and rebooted.  This is important since I have long felt that I have to reboot the phone more than once a week to keep it snappy, and some of the books I listen take longer than a week of traveling back and forth to work to finish.

The features inside surpassed my expectations.  I have previously used two different MP3 players and an Blackberry with Audible so have seen several different levels of features and interfaces.  This was the best I have worked with.  Once a file is selected for play I am given the following tabs along the top:  Now Playing, Details, Chapters, and Bookmarks. 

Now Playing has all the tools for navigating the file including a “back 30 seconds” button and a button to set bookmarks.  The time that the file has played displays on the left and the time remaining displays on the right between them is the chapter number.  There is a beautiful summary section in the center of the screen that includes title, part number, author, and the cover art.

The Details screen gives the Audible book summary as it appears on the website.

The chapters screen gives a listing of all the chapters in the file.  Here I would have liked it to continue chapter numbering between parts rather than to list the chapters in that part beginning with 1.  However, I suspect this has more to do with the files themselves than the Android application.  It is still nice to be able to get directly to the beginning of the chapter.  The chapter numbers from the Now Playing screen correspond to the chapter numbers here.

The bookmark section simply allows me to navigate directly back any section I have previously bookmarked with the button in Now Playing.

Overall, I haven’t had any real problems with the application.  I’m looking forward to seeing what if any improvements they make to the final release when it hits the marketplace.  Until then, I am just excited to finally have this capability on my phone.

See this other blog entry for some excellent screenshots and another opinion.

http://www.droiddog.com/android-blog/2010/05/audible-private-beta-for-android/