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CD or Digital audio books? Which one is right for you?

Audio books have come a long way. Find out more about different audio book formats below:

Format: CD MP3 on CD Digital
Available from:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Audible

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Simply Audio Books

eMusic

No. of Titles: 300,000+ 7,000+ 100,000+
Shipping Fees? Yes Yes No
Transit time: 3-14 Business Days 3-14 Business Days Minutes to hours
10 hours of audio is equivalent to: 8 CDs 1 MP3 CD 285 MB
Bookmarking? Help No No Yes
Required Devices: CD Player Modern CD Player MP3 Player, CD Player or Computer
Works on CD player? Yes Maybe Yes
Savings/Membership plans? Help

Simply Audio Books

 No

Audible

Simply Audio Books

eMusic

Resale Value? Yes Yes No
Browse Titles » Browse Titles » Learn More »

Learn More about Digital Audio Books »

The amount of time it takes to download a MP3 audio book is dependent on it's length (file size) and your internet connection speed:

Digital Format: MP3
File size for 1 hr of audio 14.4MB
Download time per hour (high speed connection) 1m 19s
Download time per hour (56K modem) 35 mins

Whether this type of audio book format allows you to stop listening to a book and resume from where you left off or is more like a CD in that you must skip from chapter to chapter and fast forward and rewind to certain parts.

What companies offer a subscription service for this type of audio book where members can realize significant savings.