Great start
I always support public domain developers. This is a great start. I’ve used and/or beta tested almost every audiobook player out there over the last several years starting back when Bookmarks was still around. There are lots of improvements I could suggest by cherry picking features of everything still out there but I will resist tabulating all these except one which is the need to be able to access audiobooks sync’d to the phone from iTunes to be played in the native iBooks app. Using iTunes file sharing or Dropbox etc. works but it’s way more steps than should be necessary. I know it can be done since AudBooks, Undulib, and Bookmobile can all do it (great pay apps btw). That said, this effort deserves support as it develops since in the end a solid free player continually updated has to be welcome. I’ve often thought I’d give Swift a try just to write an app identical to this. Now I see it’s flowering on github. Need a beta tester who listens daily? ;-).
Thanks! Keep it up.
Thanks! Keep it up.
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Simple and Useful, doesn’t remember playback speed
I downloaded this app after receiving a copy of an audiobook I needed to listen to for work. Overall it was pretty simple to get started, I uploaded the audio files to my OneDrive account and pointed the app at that folder. From there it combined the files into one book and even picked up the book’s graphic.
The interface is similar to other audiobook apps like Audible.
There are two issues I found with this app. First, the speed settings don’t stick across chapters. If I set it to 1.25x playback speed it works for the current chapter then resets to 1x when the next chapter starts.
Second, it is not obvious how to skip around. You have to swipe on the graphic to skip 30s forward or back. If you tap on the graphic it pauses. OTOH, controls on the lock screen and easier to use. This is minor as I very seldom have reason to skip sections, although sometimes I need to jump back.
The interface is similar to other audiobook apps like Audible.
There are two issues I found with this app. First, the speed settings don’t stick across chapters. If I set it to 1.25x playback speed it works for the current chapter then resets to 1x when the next chapter starts.
Second, it is not obvious how to skip around. You have to swipe on the graphic to skip 30s forward or back. If you tap on the graphic it pauses. OTOH, controls on the lock screen and easier to use. This is minor as I very seldom have reason to skip sections, although sometimes I need to jump back.
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Excellent app
UPDATE: The only things missing that I can think of are percentages to show how much left (of chapter and of book) and custom bookmarks.
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A very well-built app. I switched over from iBooks (which also lets you play MP3 or m4b audiobook files) for a few reasons:
- it's much easier to import (no iTunes needed - can simply airdrop the files over, use cloud storage or email the files to your phone)
- You can set the rewind and fast forward level, e.g. 10 seconds
- Pressing next or back in my car forwards and rewinds rather than skipping to the next chapter like it does in iBooks
The app is clean and slick, easy to use and has absolutely no limitations. Should be made a paid app imo. I could find no other reader that matches this app.
Even though you can transfer over MP3 files, I recommend downloading an M4B creator so you can compile all your files into a single M4B audiobook file.
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A very well-built app. I switched over from iBooks (which also lets you play MP3 or m4b audiobook files) for a few reasons:
- it's much easier to import (no iTunes needed - can simply airdrop the files over, use cloud storage or email the files to your phone)
- You can set the rewind and fast forward level, e.g. 10 seconds
- Pressing next or back in my car forwards and rewinds rather than skipping to the next chapter like it does in iBooks
The app is clean and slick, easy to use and has absolutely no limitations. Should be made a paid app imo. I could find no other reader that matches this app.
Even though you can transfer over MP3 files, I recommend downloading an M4B creator so you can compile all your files into a single M4B audiobook file.
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Good, well presented app
This is a very good audiobook player. It has a nice clear layout and easy to use. I would prefer it if the method of jumping forward or backwards was easier to use. It would also be handy if If the playback could be set stop at the end of a chapter. As it is, it seems to be only able to stop after a set period of minutes. Other than that it is a fine app.
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Bellissimo
Does exactly what I wished with such a minimalist flair xx👏🏻
Wonderful app
This app has just the thing i need: a audio book player with speed manipulation and 30 sec +/- buttons. But, no in app purchase, cool. :)
I wish, a very happy future to the developer. Keep your apps updated. :)
I wish, a very happy future to the developer. Keep your apps updated. :)
Simple, bugless, no annoying ads or pop ups.
This app is extremely simple. There are no ads, no glitches, and no pop ups. Pretty much nothing that annoyed me about the other 5 apps I tried. I have audio book files that I pulled off of CDs and uploaded to my google drive. They imported to this app from there easily. There are a million features that people might like which are missing from this app (pause from iPhone headphone button, select multiple files at a time, separate files from different books into their own folders, FFW/RWD) which I would've liked, but the features that it has work flawlessly. Namely, it remembers where you left off, allows control from lock screen, and doesn't have annoying bugs or ads. The worst annoyance that OTHER APPS tend to have is that they forget where I left off or skip around in between listenings. This app played exactly where I left off perfectly every time I opened the app. That reliability is my favorite thing about it. Following that, its simplicity and playback speed control make using it a very pleasant experience. As long as they keep these characteristics, this will be the only app I will ever use again for audiobooks. I very much enjoy how it is designed and functions. If they can add any of the missing features that I mentioned above while maintaining all of the positive characteristics, I'll be changing my review to five stars.
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Response from developer
While folders are not available yet, BookPlayer now has support for playlists and remote controls as well as a brand new interface for adjustable forward and rewind. We hope you enjoy the upgrade.
