It's called the Playaway. It's a totally self-contained mini-audio book. It claims to be the easiest way to listen to a book, you just press play. The Playaway is small it weighs only 2 ounces, making it portable and easy to fit in any pocket. Despite being so tiny, it contains up to 80 hours of play time. This Playaway contains the entire New Testament. We took it to the streets to see what people thought. Elsa Offenbacher says she reads a lot and the Playaway is a nifty idea. She tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "It has 18 hours on it, that's pretty intense. The size is good, it's not real heavy like a CD player, sort of like an iPod, but it's just one thing. I think it's a neat idea."
One thing because the Playaway comes with ear buds, runs on one triple-a battery, and has an automatic bookmark so it remembers where you left off. Bryan Nickels says, "It is amazing." But he says it's not something for him, "I probably wouldn't buy it, but it's cool for someone who would like it." Kathy Byda likes it's portability, but also says she wouldn't buy it. She adds, "I wouldn't buy something like this, because I could have the same functionality with my iPod and only have one device rather than multiple devices."
You can share Playaways with others almost anywhere as it has a universal headphone jack that can be used with a number of mobility accessories, like portable speakers, FM transmitters and audio cables. So it's not for everyone, but we give Playaway a thumbs up as it works as advertised. The price depends on the book you buy. Our bible version cost $50.00, but you can get books or music compilations for less than that on the Playaway website. One other neat feature of the audio book, you can keep it forever, just change the battery or you can reload it with a new book when you're done with the old one.
