Best Free Android Apps to Download and Listen to Audio Books
I hate to sit and read books.
I honestly just get to bored because it goes too slow and there is so much else going on around me.
I do, however, love to listen to audiobooks.
I happen to have a long commute to work, and I have listened to many many books I've always wished I had the attention to read in the past.
A neat feature of the Samsung Intercept Android is that it can background stream and download audiobooks.
There are a handful of apps that I use every day!
I do not like to pay for things if I can help it, and therefore, these apps are also free.
The QRCodes are listed so that you too can enjoy tit or at least, try it out!
Audiobooks by Traveling Classics
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeAudiobooks by Traveling Classics
Free access to 2,800 and counting books in the "public domain" through the volunteer based Librivox.org program.
Search/Browse by:
- Genre
- Author
- By Narrator
- Language
The app can give you a random book to try at the touch of a button with "Surprise me".
It keeps a record of the books you are listening to in "My Library", and this includes bookmarks across all the books in your library.
Some narrators are hard to understand, but once you find one you like, chances are that they may have read other books too.
Thankfully, you can search by Narrator.
Audible for Android
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeAudible for Android
Although the books are not free, the excerpts are, and also the few free books you get by trying the Audible service are also free.
This is a great slick app that does exactly what it is supposed to do. If you are willing to buy audiobooks, Audible is the service to use. They often have great sales and perhaps you are already a subscriber.
Check out this special offer to get two free ebooks with a free trial.
OverDrive Media Console
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeOverDrive Media Console
Many libraries offer FREE mp3 and wma audiobooks. So, quit paying for them! Take advantage of your tax dollars at work.
With the OverDrive Media Console, you can download and listen to mp3 audiobooks (not wma) to your heart's content from your local libraries.
For a zip code based search tool for a library near you that uses Overdrive, see HERE! The newest version of the Overdrive app also will let you locate a library and integrate it into the app. Many libraries are setting up mobile interfaces so that you can check out and download the audiobooks straight from their websites through this Overdrive app.
Playback of book has great features.
To download, you can have either WiFi or 3G. WiFi works much faster of course, but it will slowly download in the background over 3G.
The desktop product from Overdrive is not exactly the least buggiest thing you will see in your life, but the nearly "Audible like" selection free mp3 books is worth the little bit of hassle. The Android App is actually less buggy than its PC/Mac desktop cousin.
Many libraries are beginning to offer mobile versions of their digital download sites to accommodate apps like Overdrive. So Get to It!