Gone are the cumbersome cassette sets that could cost three times as much as an old-fashioned book and often featured only excerpts to cut down on costs.
Now, audiobooks are just a click away and can be uploaded onto a smartphone for the same, if not lower, price as the print edition.
Mary Beth Roche, president and publisher of Macmillan Audio, says their reader feedback suggests many use audiobooks as a « multitasking tool, » a way to « consume books when their eyes are busy.  »
For others—whose work lives may involve long stretches at the screen—they are a way to unplug.
« It’s sort of nice to sit back, and relax and have a story told to you, » said Roche.
Some 35,574 audiobook titles were released in the United States in 2015, according to the Audio Publishers Association, an eight-fold increase over five years.
That year, sales of books read out loud reached $1.77 billion, an annual jump of 20 percent.
According to the Author Earnings website, Amazon largely dominates the market—even more so than for the print book industry—with around 119,000 audiobooks sold per day in January 2016.
At the core of its earnings is industry leader Audible, which Amazon bought in 2008. The tech and retail giant also offers subscription deals, including one book per month for $14.95.
Most major publishers now have dedicated audiobook teams.
A favorite in the car
In the United States, audiobooks have long been serious business—simply because Americans on average spend so much time in their cars.
« What we found out is that’s a way for consumers to make that time in traffic, quality time, » said Roche.
« Even way back when it was the cassette and then the CD, the number one place that people listen is in the car. We do find that a long car trip or a long commute is often what triggers someone to try an audiobook and to experience it for the first time and then they find other places where they can listen.  »
When audiobooks became available in digital format, people started using them during other activities—when out shopping or jogging, performing household tasks or crafting.
‘Lose myself’
For thriller author John Hart, gyms and shops are not necessarily the best place to enjoy a book.
« But if it’s a quite contemplative type of environment, driving or working in a quiet manner, it’s probably a great way to experience these books, » he said.
« Driving your car on a long trip I find for instance an audiobook is every bit as satisfying as sitting in a quiet room and reading and in fact it can even become more so completely immersive. I’d lose myself in the experience.  »
The audio rights for Hart’s first book were sold to Recorded Books. After that, his publisher Macmillan sought to retain control of the audiobook as well as the print rights.
Anthony Goff, senior vice president at Hachette Book Group, noted that authors today have a much keener interest than before in the audiobook version of their works, sometimes suggesting readers or offering to do the reading themselves.
Most celebrities who recently published autobiographical works in the United States also provided recordings of the volumes, including Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Fisher and Bernie Sanders.
On average, audiobooks account for 10 percent of sales of the print version, said Roche. But the figure is greater for some genres, such as science fiction, fantasy and especially self-help works.
Roche estimates that at least 1,000 copies of a given audiobook must be sold in order to start making a profit. That’s because they can be expensive to produce.
« We still count on print to lead the charge, but I do believe that audio sales are helping to expand the market and finding new fans for our authors, » said Goff.
Explore further: Page-turner: After sizzling growth, e-book sales cool

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Yesterday, HTC rolled out Android 7.0 Nougat to its unlocked mid-range One A9 handsets in the United States, completing its promise to upgrade the One A9, One M9, and 10 in the country. European customers haven’t seen the same effort, but the company is now promising that unlocked models of both the One M9 and 10 should see the update in about two weeks.
As you can see from the above tweets, the firm is also working with carriers to push out the update within the same timeframe, so if you don’t have the unlocked model, you just might be in luck.
Despite having launched back in August , Nougat is only currently installed on 0.7% of Google Play devices. In fact, just 0.2% are actually on the latest version, which is 7.1.1. Unfortunately, HTC’s update will add onto the other 0.5%, which is version 7.0.
HTC also recently announced its new flagship U Ultra and U Play handsets , which have a second display that’s similar to LG’s V-series of phones. The U Ultra uses a Snapdragon 821 chipset, so if you buy one, keep in mind that it won’t have the best processor around for long, as handsets with the Snapdragon 835 are right around the corner.
Source: Android Police

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Nintendo announced pricing and a release date for its upcoming Switch console last week, but the next Mario title, Super Mario Odyssey , won’t be part of the launch and will most likely arrive later in the year. While we wait for the title to materialize, it appears that someone has decided to have a bit of fun by combining various mods for Grand Theft Auto IV and creating a cheeky parody that has Mario in the city.
Unfortunately, in the recreation, things aren’t quite as glamorous for Mario, but it makes for a good laugh nonetheless. In a fashion similar to opening moments of the Super Mario Odyssey trailer, the lanky GTA IV variant performs acrobatics but as he begins to run through the city, is quickly run over by a taxi and thrown to the floor. The rest of the adventure unfolds in a similar fashion with Mario getting into various trouble with the law and also face planting several times.
Now what you are seeing isn’t anything new, but the pairing of everything with the Super Mario Odyssey soundtrack makes this a worthwhile parody. If you feel like having a bit of fun yourself, you can always download the three mods that are linked in the YouTube source link below.
Source: YouTube via CNET

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Two well placed sources have told the New York Post that wireless giant Verizon may be interested in acquiring a large cable company. As the transition from 4G to 5G approaches, Verizon may be looking for areas to pursue additional growth. According to the anonymous sources, Verizon is « weighing » the acquisition of a cable company to help grow demand for its wireless data products. The story comes after discussions at CES where CEO Lowell McAdam suggested he wants to buy into the cable industry.
Two likely targets for the deal would be Charter or Comcast given their current market share. An October article from DSLReports suggests Verizon is looking to get out of the fixed-line broadband business, so growth into the cable market would let them do just that. The move could be seen as a response to AT&T which now owns DirecTV and is interested in purchasing Time Warner for over $100 billion.
Sources at the Post describe the potential deal as helpful for Verizon’s 5G rollout, although it doesn’t make much sense from a technical point of view. Verizon’s network is very different from Comcast and Charter, and 5G networks are different from cable networks. This inconsistency casts some doubt on the deal which may be fueled by Wall Street hysteria.
This past December, McAdam told Wall Street analysts and investors that a meeting with Comcast or Charter would make « industrial sense.  » Wall Street may be banking on a pro-business Trump Administration to allow these huge mergers that would have been shot down under previous regulations. If the deal to buy Yahoo falls apart , the cable industry could be Verizon’s next best bet.

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Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO Telegram, responded to one Twitter user to confirm that audio calls (and possibly video calls) will be coming to the popular messaging app. Unfortunately, Telegram would not announce when the functionality would make its way to the app. The users asking Durov about call functionality also asked about custom themes on the mobile app, presumably that feature is coming too given Durov’s response.
Telegram is understood to have developed voice calling technology some time ago. In a tweet posted April 24th, 2015, Telegram said:
This is echoed in the app’s FAQ which reads:
The launch of voice calling may not actually be far off now, one observant Reddit user pointed out that a Telegram 3.16 beta actually comes with hidden call functionality , so now it’s just a matter of waiting for Telegram to flip the switch in an upcoming release.
As for custom themes on the mobile app, this feature too shouldn’t take long to arrive. A few days ago Telegram 1.0 for desktop was released with support for custom themes.
Source: Twitter via Venture Beat | Image via Telegram

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If you’ve been wanting to get your hands on a second generation Moto 360, now is the time. Google today removed the listing for the device from its online Store. In fact, Motorola confirmed at the beginning of December that it has no foreseeable plans to make a new model.
Luckily, there are still some third-party retailers that you can get the smartwatch from (Motorola doesn’t sell it from its website either), such as Best Buy. The retailer has three models in stock, but they’re all on clearance, so you’ll want to hurry up. You can get the 46mm gold and black model for $322.99, the 42mm gold stainless steel model for $303.99, or a refurbished 46mm Sport for $154.99.
The Google Store now has four Android Wear devices for sale: Nixon – The Mission , Michael Kors Access Bradley Smartwatch , Michael Kors Access Dylan Smartwatch , and Polar M600 Sports Watch .
It’s likely that the company is clearing out inventory in preparation for next month’s Android Wear 2.0 release. There should be two new LG smartwatches that ship alongside the new OS as well; however, if you already have the second generation Moto 360, it is slated for an upgrade.
Source: Google Store via 9to5Google

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