B&N makes a play for your ears, launches its own Nook audiobook app

By Malarie Gokey Published November 19, 2014

best audiobook apps audiobooks for free — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Barnes & Noble jumped on the audiobooks train on Wednesday with a brand-new app for Android called Nook Audiobooks. The app accompanies the Nook ebook app and offers a selection of 50,000 audiobooks.

Before you’ve even got to grips with the app, Barnes & Noble offers you a great deal — two free ebook downloads. Of course, the choice is limited to a handful of titles, including Seabiscuit, Ender’s Game, Gone Girl, The Heist, and Charlotte’s Web. Luckily, all of these audiobooks are bestsellers and are sure to catch the interest of many users.

Recommended Videos

Each audiobook has its own short sample clip to assess the narration. This feature is particularly handy when you’re looking for something new, and don’t know how the narrator sounds.

Barnes & Noble has included many free audiobooks, in addition to a wide range of popular paid audiobooks. Bestsellers including The Golem of Hollywood, Gone Girl, Mockingjay, I Am Malala, The Blood of Olympus, and more are available for purchase. Barnes & Noble also packed in the best audiobooks of works from popular authors like Jodi Picoult, George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, and others.

The Nook Audiobooks app is available for most Android tablets and smartphones and you can find it in the Google Play Store. Barnes & Noble told DigitalTrends that an iOS version of the app is expected to debut in the spring of 2015.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Mobile

The Galaxy A56 may get one of the S24 Ultra’s top features

A person using the Samsung Galaxy A55.

Samsung may be ready to change one of the long-standing negatives about its otherwise desirable Galaxy A5x series phones — the charging speed. For the Galaxy A55’s replacement, currently expected to be called the Galaxy A56, Samsung may introduce 45-watt charging speeds, a big increase over the current 25W charging, according to a report originating in China.

The source is an official-looking certificate from the Chinese government’s Quality Certification Centre (CQC) which is responsible for ensuring devices sold in China meet the required standards. The phone is listed as the SM-A5660, and seeing as the Galaxy A55’s model number is the SM-A556, it’s not much of a stretch to assume we’re looking at details of the unreleased Galaxy A56. Apparently, the phone’s maximum 10V/4.5A system equates to a 45W charging speed.

Mobile

I used a Wear OS smartwatch for the first time, and I love it

Someone wearing an Apple Watch Ultra and Pixel Watch 3 on different wrists.

Ever since the original Apple Watch, smartwatches as a whole have really taken off. Though Apple largely dominates the market, there are still plenty of non-Apple smartwatches to choose from.

I’ve been solely an Apple Watch user for the past decade, but I’ve been trying out a Google Pixel Watch 3 for the past couple of weeks. And, honestly, I kind of love it.
A round smartwatch is so much sleeker

Mobile

This hacking tool can unlock an iPhone 16. Here’s how it works

Lock screen on an iPhone 16.

Apple does not assist third parties in unlocking iPhones, which has led many law enforcement agencies to rely on the Graykey forensics tool. A recent report from 404 Media indicates that this controversial product can now access the newest iPhone 16 models.

Should this be a concern for you? Almost certainly not, but it's still good to stay informed about how these things work. Here's a quick overview.