Smart AudioBook Player Android Review

When you have many audio book recordings that you wish to listen to, then you cannot go far wrong with the Smart AudioBook Player app for Android.

The initial version is available for 30 days and then it reverts to a more basic version which excludes features like the ability to speed up playback to consume media in less time. But otherwise it is still very usable beyond the initial trial period. Currently the paid version is only $2 which is a bargain.

Accessing Media

The app needs to be told where to look for your audio book media. Once the settings are properly configured, it can discover all the audio books that you have in each folder.

Cover Artwork

The software can also access audiobook (and book) covers for each title. There is also the option to run a search through the app for other covers and pick your own instead which may look better. The larger, squarer covers looks the best in the playback window which display below the playback controls.

Artwork has be selected individually for each folder or digital version of a CD recording that the app has found so that can be a bit laborious (there should really be a way to add artwork to a library and select which audio books to apply the same cover artwork to in order to save time).

Playing Media

The app re-scans the library each time it returns to the main screen. Depending on the size of the audio book library this could slow things down.

Once an audio book has been selected, the playback screen will display. This will show the audio book cover, title, track name, and playing time.

There are controls to change the playing speed, share with others, bookmark the spot in the recording, or lock the screen so an accidental tap won't mess up the playback. There is also a useful 10 minute snooze feature which will gently reduce the volume and then pause the playback for you when you're listening to a book before falling asleep.

The controls are quite fine with pause/play, back to the start of the track, forward to the next track, and more subtle adjustments to go back 1 minute or 10 seconds, or forward by the same amount. These are useful when you didn't catch what was said or a person or outside ambient noise preventing heaving the audio book for a moment.

Audio playback is paused when a phone call is received. This works on most Bluetooth earpieces as well.

Widget

There is a useful app widget for Android home screens which displays the controls for the app directly on the home screen without needing to open the app to resume play.

No Ads

No adverts are displayed inside the app. The developers rely on a 30 day preview and a basic version offered after this time, plus a cheap premium version.

Verdict

Smart AudioBook Player is one of the best dedicated audio book player apps for Android. It is much easier to access audio books on an Android device, get back to where you have played up to and resume playback than when using a regular audio player like the Google Music app. Smart AudioBook Player comes highly recommended.