Send to KindleAudiobooks.com has just launched a pretty amazing service that puts Amazon’s Audible.com on the defensive. For a flat monthly fee of $24.95, you can stream as many audiobooks as you want. That’s right–unlimited audiobooks for $25 a month!
The catch? You can’t download the ebooks; it’s streaming-only. This means that you need to have a wi-fi connection (like a computer) or a device with 3G connectivity (like a smartphone) to listen to the books from Audiobooks.com. But if you’ve got a phone with unlimited data or if you’re just at home a lot on your laptop, this is pretty amazing.
I want this. I like Amazon’s Audible.com audiobook service, but find it’s just too expensive. I go in spurts where I’m an Audible member for a couple months, and then I get tired of paying for it so I cancel my membership. I also don’t really like its credit system very much. (You pay a certain amount each month and get a certain amount of credits in return. You then buy audiobooks with the credits.) I do love audiobooks, though. I’m currently listening to The DaVinci Code. Last year I listened to all 3 books in the the Hunger Games trilogy, plus Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. I’m still working up the courage to start listening to War and Peace, though. It’s waiting for me on my iPod.
What Amazon needs is to include some free audiobooks in with its Kindle Prime package. I’d rather get one free audiobook a month than pay $25 a month for unlimited audiobooks.
The ball’s in your court, Amazon.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I went to Audiobooks.com and couldn’t find anything about the unlimited streaming option.
Hi, Dave! Thanks for your comment. And, of course, you are right. I hope you will notice that the post you are commenting on was released over a year ago, so obviously things have changed since it was published.
I have no personal knowledge of this service anyway, because my husband and I acquired this blog in October of 2012. I can only say that if Tristan said it (a year ago) it must have been true then. You know how companies are, though: always trying this and trying that. Probably the $25.00 option wasn’t all that popular, for the reasons Tristan mentioned.
It’s up there and easy to find, not sure why you couldn’t find it?
It’s $30/month now though….
I’m bummed they don’t have a windows phone app! Audible has one….