One of the most important benefits of audio books in a downloadable digital format is the instantaneous nature in which an audio book can get from the producer to the customers. For example, as soon as an audio book is produced, it can get into the hands of the customer within mere minutes in a downloadable digital format, but this cannot happen with audiocassette tapes and CDs. In addition, the cost to the producer is lower than the cost associated with producing audiocassettes and CDs. Plus you have no shipping or packaging costs to incur, thus resulting in lower purchase prices for downloadable audio books.

All of the above are big advantages of downloadable audio books. However, let’s take a look at some of the disadvantages of audio books in downloadable digital formats and how we can easily solve them.

Bandwidth problems can occur, especially if you do not have a high-speed internet connection. Unlike how easy it is to download music on the Internet, it is not as easy to download complete audio books because of their large file size.

While a musical song can be just 4 minutes long and take very little time to download, an audio book of about 3 hours would take far longer to download. The time to download can vary drastically depending on the Internet connectivity of the person downloading. I have a high-speed internet connection and can download an average audio book in 15-20 minutes. However, someone with a dial-up connection could take several hours to download the same audio book.

If you have a high-speed internet connection such as T1, DSL, or Cable, then you will be able to download your audio books in a reasonable amount of time. You can even multi-task and download while you are checking email or surfing the web.

If you have a slower internet connection, you might want to consider the following options:

Download the audio books in your free time, not when you want to get the audio book right that moment. For example, you can start the download and go out to work or go to bed. When you return home from work or wake up, the download will be completed and ready for you to listen to and enjoy.

You might also look for an alternative location to download the audio books, such as a friends’ house, the library, or your workplace. You will probably want talk to your employer about downloading files in the workplace first to be sure it is acceptable. After downloading your audio book, you can then take it with you via a zip disk or a USB flash drive to listen to at home or on the go.

Another solution to bandwidth and downloading problems is to take advantage of the eMediaXpress.com multiple file formats. eMediaXpress.com gives you the ability to select from 3 different file sizes with very little loss in sound quality. Therefore, if you are in a hurry, you can download the smallest file size much more quickly. Rest assured that you would always have all 3 file sizes available to you for download in your personal “My Library” section on the eMediaXpress.com web site.

Take advantage of our free audio book offerings to get an idea of how long your internet connection will take to download an audio book. Then you will also be able to check out the 3 different file sizes available, how long it will take to download each file size, and any difference in sound quality with the smaller file sizes. The larger file size always has premium sound quality, but takes longer to download. When purchasing a longer audio book, they are broken up into parts to make downloading easier and each part will fit on a CD if that is how you choose to listen to your new audio book.