I know exactly what you mean. My smart phone has audible built in and yes, if I had depended on it during flight, I would have been out of luck too.
But was allowed to use my tiny mp3 player with no problem.
Yes. Both my iriver units T30 and T60 work beautifully with Audible. Audible is the primary purpose for my players. I like my music too, but most often am listening to a story. Note that T30 (1gig red) is listed as supported and T60 (2 or 4 gig) is not mentioned.
Works perfectly with audible manager. Read this thread on another forum that convinced me it was safe to purchase. (A couple times I have had to resync T60 with my computer because I had the unit in LOCKED mode when I changed the battery
. This causes the unit to drop authorization to play the files. Just resync and back in business. Simple to avoid this problem, but sometimes I get a brain fart.
)
IRiver has lovely units with EXCELLENT quality sound (much better than most mp3 players). Some play videos (wasn't interested in that).
I chose the the products I did (T30 and T60) for the following reasons:
- uses AAA battery (didn't have to be around a PC to charge) Only a few units use batteries, most have rechargeable cells like ipods. I WANTED AAA battery. This was most important to me. Some people want to avoid this. Personal choice.
- decent battery life. Energizer lithium is best in the unit.
- lightweight (wanted to wear them)
- skin (protective silicone shell was available...I am a klutz)
- storage space was not an issue for me. If it was, neither of my units would have fit the bill. Even though my tiny unit only has 2gig, I have 3 audible books on my T60 right now, plus music, plus some old radio shows. This is PLENTY for my needs. Days of listening. My coworker went with different brand because she wanted 80gig. Again, personal choice.
- cost (not a huge deal but pleasant because I was able to get good deals on my units). Audible often runs specials to get people to sign up for memberships.
- radio (the T60 has an FM radio in it. Poor quality reception in many areas, but comes in handy sometimes). Was not important to me.
I got my first iriver player from Amazon.com because they had a partnership with Audible that gave me a HUGE discount on both the player and the membership when purchased within 24 hours of each other. They offered several different kinds, manufacturers, but all with the lovely discounts. Been an addict ever since.
I like my T60 so much that I went to ebay and got a second one for $50. Found the silicone shell for $20 and they are put away for "just in case" my current one dies, gets broken or lost. Have used my T60 for 2 years and still operates perfectly. Suits my needs very well.
Have noticed a change at AUDIBLE in the last few months. Now everytime I download my AA files, it downloads, then goes through an IMPORT into Windows Media player. Doubles my download time but can't seem to stop that process. I never use Windows Media Player to play or move my files. I use audible manager for my books and drag and drop other files to the unit with Windows Explorer. So the extra step that Audible goes through is wasted for me but might be quite handy for others.