Audiobooks.com tries $25 unlimited subscription plan
updated 03:25 pm EST, Tue January 24, 2012
Audiobooks takes Netflix, Spotify cues
Audiobooks.com is hoping to shake up the e-book field by trying a business model similar to Netflix or Spotify just for its namesake audiobooks. A $25 flat rate gives access to the full catalog of 11,000 audiobooks, many of which are from major publishers. Like with other such services, continued access depends on a sustained plan, but it's potentially more economic for those who read two or more books every month.
The company doesn't yet have a native app, but it has an HTML5-based mobile page for Android, iOS, and other platforms alongside a web player.
The project is technically the offshoot of Simply Audio Books' CD subscription and bears similarity to Netflix as a result. Unlike Netflix, though, it's making the digital service entirely separate from the start instead of unifying the two and making users pick different tiers. The aim is to avoid giving users cohesion only to split it apart, much as with Netflix's backfiring Qwikster plans.
The company hasn't said if or when it plans native clients. [via Mashable]
