MP3 Player Guide Specifications for eAudiobook Use

Many MP3 players are designed primarily for playing music. MP3 players intended for eAudiobook use should have the following features as well:

• Support for Windows Media Player/Digital Rights Management (WMP/DRM) files
• Adequate memory capacity, for example:
  • 256MB is required for one eight-hour eAudiobook
  • 512MB is required for two eight-hour eAudiobooks
  • 1GB is required for four eight-hour eAudiobooks
  • Additional memory capacity if the player is to be used for music downloads
• Bookmarking (or "Off/On") function that allows the player to be shut off without first selecting "stop" or "pause" and, when restarted, returns to the same place in the book
• Other navigation functions including full time display and forward/reverse buttons

The eAudiobooks available for download from the Library use a Microsoft Windows format and therefore do not work on iPods.

If you plan to store more than one eAudiobook on a player at a time, you will definitely want to have a player with a bookmarking feature. When you stop playing an eAudiobook, the bookmarking feature will allow you to "bookmark" your place in the file so that when you restart the book it will begin where you left off. And if you are listening to multiple books, or use your player to listen to both books and music, you'll also appreciate the bookmarking feature.

At this time, Creative manufactures several MP3 player models with the bookmarking feature, including:

Creative model	Capacity	Approximate cost
Zen V	1GB 2GB 4GB	$80 to $110 $95 to $130 $130
Zen V Plus	1GB 2GB 4GB 8GB	$80 to $105 $90 to $130 $130 to $170 $185
Zen MicroPhoto	4GB 8GB	$139 to $212 $150 to $200
Zen Vision	30GB	$390 to $430
Zen Vision M	30GB 60GB	$230 $269
Zen Vision W	30GB 60GB	$250 $350