Hello Jeff and listers,
I bought the BC when it first came out but my unit was buggy and ran
through batteries at an alarming clip. I also lost a memory card to the
device and had to send it in for service when it totally stopped working
after a battery change. So when I finally got around to the APH web site
and read about the Bookport, I kicked myself for not having gone that route.
When I received a bonus from work, I bought the bookport. The Bookcourier
sits in a drawer unused, and that is my backup device. As far as the
bookport goes, we are inseparable! And I do mean inseparable! It lives in
the pocket of whatever I'm wearing--it's in my robe pocket as I write this,
and it travels with me everywhere. Battery changes take place about once a
week. It handles a wider variety of formats more gracefully than does the
BC. Here are my specific comments regarding the questions you pose:
I read the article comparing the Bookport and BookCourier, but I felt
it did an inadequate job of comparison. It really just listed the
features of each product without much comparison.
I agree. The one comment they made that was helpful was that it is far too
easy to record a memo by accident on the bookport--you really need to
establish the habit of locking it when it's not in use.
Nowhere did I find much information about the mp3 capabilities of
these products. What bit rates do they support? More importantly,
what bit rates do they *not* support?
I Haven't come across a bit rate which either device would not handle. I
frequently record at very low bit rates for spoken word material and these
do not present any problems.
Can bookmarks be placed within
mp3 files?
Yes for the Bookport, no for the Bookcourier. The BP also has better
navigation of .mp3 files--I.E. you can back up by phrases or longer pauses.
In the case of music files, you can navigate by five or ten seconds or a
minute at a time. There is also a way to do rapid jumps. On the BC, you are
limited to jumping by 5 percent increments within the file and you cannot
set bookmarks.
I think my primary use for the unit would be to listen to
audio and perhaps audible.com books, so I'd be most interested in the
detailed differences between the two units in this regard.
On the BP, the audible support is in beta-testing, for which you can
download the beta firmwear and transfer software from the website. Audible
works very well on both devices, but you are limited to format 4 on either
one of them. This means your files are going to be huge and will take
longer to download, although the audio quality almost makes it worth it.
Are there other products which I should consider for listening to
audio/audible.com books?
In my opinion, either one of these devices is the most accessible
audible-ready device, if you don't mind the extra time and overhead involved
in using format 4. The Audible Otis, which is no longer sold, also worked
well and supports formats 2 and 3 if you can get your hands on one of these,
but it doesn't resume in normal .mp3 files and of course doesn't give you
verbal feedback.
Also, nowhere was anything mentioned about AC adaptors. Can either of
these units be run off of AC? If not, it seems one would go through a
lot of batteries.
Neither comes with an adapter, nor is there a plug for one on the unit. I
strongly recommend the use of NIMH rechargeables--there are chargers out now
that will fully charge these in less than an hour. One hint: store charged
spares in a baggy in your freezer--they retain the charge much longer that
way.
I did notice that in addition to the BookCourier being $20 less
expensive, it also includes twice the memory.
True, but you can purchase compact flash I cards with up to 2GB memory that
will work in either device.
The 2GB guys are terribly expensive, but there are usually pretty good deals
on 256MB and 512MB cards. Hope these comments are helpful.
Debbie
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