[danoneil]

I emailed Audible with a similar list of complaints yesterday and have not heard back. I stumbled upon this discussion through the magic of Google. I'm glad that you received a response from Audible and that they claim to be working on a new version. Quite frankly, I'm not convinced the current version is better than the flaky beta version.
Dan

[Grimlin]

Originally Posted by danoneil

I'm glad that you received a response from Audible and that they claim to be working on a new version. Quite frankly, I'm not convinced the current version is better than the flaky beta version.
Dan

I have an informal relationship with a few contacts there. I would like to keep the current arrangement we have, so I can only share parts of what I know. I am not under an NDA, but my knowledge is given to me with the caveat that I will have reasonable discretion.

I can say however, that they are working on a new version. There have been several test builds within the last week. They are addressing the performance issues and I like where they are headed.

As for this version not being better than the beta, it really depends on your usage patterns. For what I do within the app, it is tons better. However for some, it is worse and I do understand their point of view.

Welcome to the club. Please post your issues and comments and maybe with a unified voice, we will be heard.

[danoneil]

For what it's worth, this is the message that I sent to Audible through their website (and to which I have not received a response):

Customer (Dan O'Neil) - 06/17/2009 02:26 PM
I am a longtime Audible fan and have used a wide range of devices to listen to books. I recently had to switch from a Treo to a blackberry. I was disappointed in the quality of the player for the blackberry, but took solace from the fact that it was a beta. I was quick to download the final version and like it even less than the beta.

I use a blackberry bold with an 8mb card.

My biggest gripes about the new player are the following:

1. It is too hard to get back to my books. 95% of the time, I open the Audible player to continue listening to a book. With my treo, that meant opening the player and clicking play. With the blackberry, I have to open the player, open the menu, click on "local library", select my book from the list and then hope that the player remembered my place. I would prefer that the software goes straight to the player when you open it. At a minimum, there should be a large button in the opening screen that takes me straight to the player.

2. The text showing my place in the book is ridiculously small. I want to easily see where I am in the book, both my current place and how much time is left. The text is currently so small that I have trouble reading it even with my reading glasses on. Additionally, it only shows the time left in that section. I want to see how long the whole book (or current part, if it is two parts).

3. If I exit the program without clicking "exit program" and then clicking a second button labeled "exit program", my book restarts after a phone call EVEN IF IT WAS NOT PLAYING when I made the call.

4. The player frequently loses my place.

5. Fastforwarding to find my lost place is a pain in the ass. The player only loads the book one section at a time. If I am in the fifth section of book, I have to click on the fast forward, wait until it loads, click a second time, wait until that section loads, click a third time... If the player cannot load the whole book, at least let me pick which section I want.

The software for the Blackberry is so bad that I've been debating going back to one of my old players (I'm sure that it scares away new customers!), however I frequently listen while driving and don't like to fumble with controls if I get a call while driving. I love the convenience of having the player pause the book while I talk and then automatically restart after I hang up. Please fix this software so I don't have to switch!
Thanks,
Dan

Auto-Response - 06/17/2009 02:26 PM

[Grimlin]

Based on what you posted, I don't think you will get a response. It will just be forwarded on to the product development team as a "comment"

[Grimlin]

Wirelessly posted

A new version will be released within the next 24-48hrs. I believe it will be 1.3 unless the numbering changes when they go production. It will significantly improve the time from launch to playing. The direction they are heading may not be the best scenario for all users, but it will be a godsend for most.

[ValB626]

Tx, Grimlin. Will keep an eye out or else hope you'll post when 1.3 is available.

I did write via audible.com to ask for 2 versions -- a player vs a downloader -- for faster response times on sideloaded content and other functionality (e.g., a SLEEPTIMER and controllable bookmarking).

OTOH, I had occasion to enjoy streaming content the past week. Enjoyed that.

Still hoping I'll be able to OTA download my NYT subscription at some future point.

Very happy they're still working on this.

[ree_mn]

I fired up Audible just now and it gave me the update notice. The download indicates version 1.3.0.

[ree_mn]

Reboot and a little testing on my Curve. A few initial observations:

• Reliably gets from icon click to whatever screen it's going to in 16-seconds.
• If the player was active when you exited, it is reactivated automatically when you reopen the player.
  • From icon click to playing in under 20-seconds.
  • It always starts playing when it does this, even if the player was paused when you exited last.
• Initial buffering pause occurs after the first 15-20 seconds is much faster now.
• Shutdown when playing is ~10 seconds instead of the sometimes up to 45 seconds on the previous version.
• The very annoying behavior of the Player resuming playback after any phone call ends, regardless of whether the Phone application interrupted Audible's playback is still there!
  • This one is really a problem that Nellymoser needs to fix. I've taken to exiting Audible when I get out of the car. If I don't and I get a call while, say, in a store, then when the call ends, Audible resumes playback and I have to switch into it, wait, and pause it again, wasting time, distracting me, and missing some 15-60 seconds of the book if it's noisy and I can't hear it.

[Grimlin]

1.3.1 will probably be out soon. There was an issue on the bold where FF and RW weren't working.

The navigation appears to be much more responsive in this version. Not the instant pause I would like, but much better.

[Grimlin]

Originally Posted by ree_mn

Reboot and a little testing on my Curve.

A little note from my frequent reboots. The Media Player app rescans your media card when you reboot (At least on 4.6 it does). This can significantly slow down the device after a reboot. You can see the progress by going into the media player app. Opening and closing might be a bit quicker once that finishes.

[ree_mn]

Originally Posted by Grimlin

1.3.1 will probably be out soon. I noticed an issue on the bold where FF and RW weren't working. Apparently, I didn't catch it fast enough and they released 1.3 earlier than I thought they would.

The navigation appears to be much more responsive in this version. Not the instant pause I would like, but much better.

Good. I just discovered that RW/FF seemed to be completely broken and was bummed when I accidentally bumped the next section key halfway through a 2-hour section knowing I couldn't rewind and would have to let it play at 1x speed to get back to where I was. But then the whole app locked up while I tried to back up a section, I was forced to reboot the phone, and it resumed at the previous starting point, much closer to where I had lost my place. Suffice to say, I'm eagerly awaiting 1.3.1.

Pause/playback speed, definition is better. Pause seems to take 1/2 to 1 second, resume-play is near instantaneous.

[ree_mn]

Originally Posted by Grimlin

A little note from my frequent reboots. The Media Player app rescans your media card when you reboot (At least on 4.6 it does). This can significantly slow down the device after a reboot. You can see the progress by going into the media player app. Opening and closing might be a bit quicker once that finishes.

Yep. I'm running 4.5 on my curve. It too is burdened by various tasks right after startup. However, I did wait for all the startup activities to settle down before measuring times of the new Audible version.

[Grimlin]

Originally Posted by ree_mn

Suffice to say, I'm eagerly awaiting 1.3.1.

Looks like 1.3.1 is on the production site now.

[rob762]

DL'd 1.3.1 yesterday. Also, put a new book on my media card. Interestingly, I cannot see the book from 1.3.1, but I can from the old audible air version(1.0.)

I put it on the card in format 4. Anyone else see this sort of thing??

[danoneil]

I agree with the previous posters that they have made nice improvements in speed and reliability in the move to version 1.3 (or 1.3.1). I was a bit surprised that it seemed to be a forced download. I got into my car, turned on the Audible player and was given two choices: install the update or exit the program. I was happy to see an upgrade, but didn't feel like sitting in my car while waiting for the update to happen. I wonder why they didn't give the option of downloading it later.

I notice on the home screen it now tells me how many credits I have. Was that in the previous version? They use such small fonts that I could easily have overlooked it.

My two biggest wishes for next version:

1. Fix the well-documented problem of restarting books after a phone call unless you fully exit the program

2. Increase the font size on the text--especially the counter showing the progress to a more readable size.

In any case, I am glad to see the progress.
Dan

[Grimlin]

Originally Posted by rob762

DL'd 1.3.1 yesterday. Also, put a new book on my media card. Interestingly, I cannot see the book from 1.3.1, but I can from the old audible air version(1.0.)

I put it on the card in format 4. Anyone else see this sort of thing??

A few things we need to know:

1) Where is it on the card?
2) Do you have Media Card Encryption enabled?
3) Does it detect it in My Library(Not Local Books)?

[Grimlin]

Navigation seems to be much improved in 1.3.1. I haven't yet noticed any of the past glitches with RW/FF yet. They still have a lot to fix, but it is much better now.

[Grimlin]

I figured a quick list was in order. If I missed anything, chime in.

• Quicker startup times (less server polling)
• Launches to player
• Navigation glitches appear to all be fixed
• Faster Navigation response.
• My Library now loads from cache and reloads in the background.
• Book credits load from cache and reload in the background.
• Home screen and initial store screen are also cached.

[ValB626]

1.3.1 downloads my subscriptions!! yay!!!

I like it that the software tells you about new versions now...

The skipping seems a little better -- shorter skips, less narrative loss.

[Grimlin]

Originally Posted by ValB626

1.3.1 downloads my subscriptions!! yay!!

I am on the legacy plan. I don't get subscriptions :(

...but I do get 2 books per month for dirt cheap . I checked the other day and I have been with them since July 2001. They had a really small library then. I wonder how many existing subscribers they have that have had their account longer. Anyone here?