Thanks to James Kim, I was able to pass along a useful recommendation to my mom about technology. The narrow limits of my expertise were quickly exposed when trying to help her pick the right digital audio player for listening to audiobooks which can be borrowed from her local library. Here is what I asked James:
My mother wants to buy an MP3 player to listen to audiobooks, as her public library is soon to offer electronic files in addition to (or replacement for) cassettes and CDs. She runs Windows XP, and knows that the library system will be using Microsoft’s DRM, and thinks (based on some articles she’s seen) that she needs 1GB to have an entire book (or two?) at a time on a single device.
CNET reviews hundreds of these devices, but I took advantage of the workplace to get a direct answer from an expert.
If the library is using Windows Media, she should be able to fit many books on the typical player. A one-GB player would be sutiable for her, though I would recommend the Rio ce2100, a 2.5GB player that costs about $130 on the street. For a better deal, get the Rio Carbon 5GB for only a few dollars more ($160 is the lowest I’ve seen). Both players play both WMA and Audible and are easy to use and include a bookmarking feature — very useful for audio books. She can always get a smaller flash player with 1GB or so, but these are a little harder to use and don’t include bookmarking– but they can be a few dollars cheaper.
Much experience distilled to answer a very specific question… and now blogged with the hope that someone else can benefit from this piece of knowledge.