User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
It was free, can't beat that.by - February 22, 2005
Pros: easy to use, can be used over and over. I was burning onto CD. This is faster and cheaper.
Cons: Sound quality could be better. I have to turn my radio all the way up to hear it.
Review:
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Worth it for Audiobooksby - September 28, 2004
Pros: Will do for Audible Audiobooks. Is very much worth it (considering that it's free).
Cons: Confusing menu controls
Review:
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Otis is neat!by - September 22, 2004
Pros: So small it's hard to believe how much it holds! Free with the 12 months of audible. Can put any mp3 on it if you import it into audible's program (you naysayers even try that???)
Cons: Battery life is very short and no clear explanation of what the different 'modes' are good for
Review:
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Very reliable, user friendly productby - September 1, 2004
Pros: I cannot rate service and support because I have not required any in the 18 months I've owned it. I dropped it in the pool last week...let it dry out...and it's working just as great as it did before.
Cons: I have no negative comments.
Review:
User Rating: 2.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
It is not a very good productby - September 1, 2004
Pros: I like the size and the compactness of the mp3 player.
Cons: However, down side of the player is that it won't work/compatible with other audio program. Its designed only for audible.com due privacy and copy right issue.
Review:
User Rating: 0.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
This Player SUCKS!by - September 1, 2004
Pros: It seems to have decent features if you can ever get it to work.
Cons: I've been an Audible.com member for over 2-yrs and received my Otis player free...the only problem is that I have never been able to get the thing to work. I've complained to Audible and they sent me another Otis which didn't work either. It seems there i
Review:
User Rating: 0.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
3rd player, don't know why i keep tryingby - August 5, 2004
Pros: free
Cons: Worked fine for first couple of books, then crashed. Tried 2nd Otis, it also crashed on same file so I thought the file might have been bad. Now I have my 3rd Otis (this has been going on for 4 months) and it crashed with only the second book upload. Real
Review:
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
New Audible Otis firmware does not connect with Mac iTunes/OSX.by - July 11, 2004
Pros: Original Audible Otis still works fine with iTunes 4.6 and OSX10.3. Has firmware version 1.0.0.2
Cons: Newer Otis (2nd device with second 1 yr. subscription) will not connect to iTunes. Has firmware version 1.0.2.1 Audible says the problem is with my computer and I'm their only subscriber with this problem. I don't think so after reading comments on this s
Review:
User Rating: 0.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
A great player for audible books!by - July 4, 2004
Pros: Has worked flawlessly for 8 months. Has a very easy interface for burning to CD's.
Cons: Is slow to upload to the player.
Review:
User Rating: 4.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Good litle playerby - June 8, 2004
Pros: Great for audio books I have had it for 5 months and no problems what so ever
Cons: very slow transfering files to the SD card
Review:
User Rating: 0.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
On my 2nd device, still not workingby - February 18, 2004
Pros: Size. Free with subscription.
Cons: Does not work. Period. Customer support will give you "busy work" that takes an hour because they don't know what to suggest. If you are considering an Audible subscription, don't make the mistake of choosing this device. It will ruin your experience.
Review:
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Have been unsing Otis for over 2!!by - January 23, 2004
Pros: Great product!! I am on my third otis, not because they stop working, but because I love the site. I have been a member for 2 1/2 years, I hav e 2 subscritions, recieved one otis for each. Then reupped to get a third one. They even gave me a free month of
Cons:
Review:
User Rating: 2.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Otis Sucks!!by - December 30, 2003
Pros: Small and easy to use.
Cons: Terrible quality, I am on my 3rd one and am now looking to replace it - this time with a different player.
Review:
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
A good, if simplistic, playerby - December 22, 2003
Pros: Small, efficient, reliable.
Cons: Not as versatile as the Rio line of products but overall, very good.
Review:
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
A great combination with Audibleby - December 7, 2003
Pros: Designed especially for listening to books and spoken text. Light, small, easy to travel with and can be used with a tape deck in the car. Easy interface with audible.com. Pricing is great -- free when you subscribe to the book service. If you listen
Cons: Don't expect to use this as an ipod replacement. It is very simplistic and basic (which is a strength -- see above), but a weakness for listening to music.
Review:
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
The Best for Audible Booksby - November 7, 2003
Pros: small, simple, functional
Cons: available only thru a 1 yr subscription from Audible
Review:
User Rating: 3.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Pretty darn good for the priceby - May 8, 2003
Pros:
Cons:
Review: I got it free with a membership at audible.com. For audible books its great! The Audible mamager works well with the Otis. It, IMHO, MP3's quite well however the interface between the computer and the otis for transfering MP3s pretty much sucks. When Audible manager asks if you if you want to scan for audio files answer NO. Instead download the m-anyLoaderExpress from m-any.com. The Otis is really a MusicMaster (DAH400). The loaderExpress software handles mp3s better. The Otus it self could use a better user interface especially for the equilizer part but I guess you get what you pay for.
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great Deal, with audible.com subscription.by - May 6, 2003
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Review: The player by itself is a battery hog. But with the car kit and audible content your commutes will be more productive.
User Rating: 1.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
can't use upgrade MMC card-can't get helpby - April 14, 2003
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Review: I love my basic otis for downloading audible books. However, I can't get my MMC card to download and can't find anyone on the net or via phone to help me.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Why not get one?!by - March 21, 2003
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Review: Considering I already have more than a years supply of books on my wish list (2 books per month for one year), I decided to commit and get the Otis as a benefit of being an Audible member. It arrives in a professional package, and the quality beats that of my MP3 player I bought for more.
User Rating: 2.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Question for Otis users!by - February 28, 2003
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Review: I'm trying to install Otis on my Windows XP system and it says the driver isn't validated by Windows. Should I care, or just install it anyway?
User Rating: 2.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
batteries run down too quicklyby - February 27, 2003
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Review: it is easy to loose your place in a book and it's hard to read the screen in dim light.
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Easy, Easy Listeningby - February 12, 2003
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Review: Otis is fabulous! Audible's download onto Otis is fast and easy. The sound quality is excellent.
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Otis is great!by - January 25, 2003
Pros:
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Review: I'm confused by this review...I have a Mac, and it works great with I-tunes. If you want it for MP3's, this Otis is not for you. If you love books like me, it's a godsend. Also, at the time the reviewer had the Otis, the rates were lower than they are now. I'm a premium, and it's 19.95, not 15.95...otherwise, the review was spot on. (P.S....thanks for telling me about the expansion MMC card. I didn't know until I read it on the review that the MMC slot only had a piece of plastic in it.
So now I can expand it...)
User Rating: 4.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great for what it was made for...nothing elseby - November 16, 2002
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Review: If you listen to audiobooks on the road, the Otis is for you.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
has surpassed my expectationsby - November 12, 2002
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Review: I got it mainly for the audiobook feature, and it works great for it. Current deal is that Otis is actually free with one-year membership - I don't know how you could beat that. With the way Audible.com has it set up, it's much easier than I expected to download my book and subscriptions. The Otic has worked perfectly since I got it. I have music files on it as well as audiobooks, and all of it sounds great. I got a 128mb multi-media card, so with the 64mb internal storage, I have all sorts of room. Would recommend this to anyone.
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Get one!by - October 9, 2002
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Review: Current promotion is unbeatable - one year of two books per month and player is free. Been listening to a 7-hour book and have NO complaints. Easy to use, great sound, expandable memory ($25 on eBay). Great value.
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Excellent Audio-book playerby - September 28, 2002
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Review: I purchased the Otis player from Audible. I received it 3 days after ordering. Setup is a snap - no problem at all. I downloaded 9 hours of content in formats 2 and 3. Even in format 2 (the lesser quality) the sound was more than adequate; in fact it is very, very good. The player is surprisingly small (much smaller than a pack of cigarettes) and very light; the picture makes it look bigger. The carrying case is neat and functional. The controls are simple and easy. The included earbuds work fine. I have not used it for music, so I cannot speak to that. Also can't speak to support, since I haven't needed any. The instructions and controls are, however, clear and simple. As an audiobook player, I can recommend it very highly.
User Rating: 4.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great Value and Convenienceby - September 27, 2002
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Review: I recently subscribed to Audible and got the free Otis player. Getting the player for free is obviously a great value if you would subscribe to Audible anyway, and as a regular listener to audio books, I probably would. Everything has worked as promised and was simple to set up. The Otis player is tiny and very cool. Battery life is 15-20 hours, or about as long as it takes to listen to 64MB worth of audio in a compressed format. The downloading software worked fine and was simple to figure out. It is convenient to listen either through headphones or (in my car) plugged into the free cassette adapter. It is a good value compared to renting cassettes, and much more convenient to listen to. You also get (almost) instant gratification by downloading books instead of waiting for cassettes to arrive in the mail. My only reservation is that for Format 2, which is the only format available for what I am listing to that works on the Otis, the audio quality is noticably poorer than most cassettes. It sounds a bit like old recordings of 1930s and 40s radio. I have gotten used to it, and for audio books I think the deficiency in sound quality is more than outweighed by the value and convenience of the Otis, but it might bother a true audiophile. MP3s sound fine, but use up a lot more memory that the compressed format. In my case, however, I only got it to listen to audio books anyway. I would highly recommend it to someone who likes audio books, appreciates the convenience of the small size and many more hours of audio compared to cassettes, and is looking to save money over buying audio books on cassette or CD.
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Audible great, batteries yuck!by - September 25, 2002
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Review: I love both my Otis player and my subscription to Audible. If only I could get the batteries to last longer. But purchasing an adapter helped.
User Rating: 0.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Lemon! Lousy tech support!!!!by - September 18, 2002
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Review: I got ripped off and then screwed over by their tech support. Don't buy the Otis!!!
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great audiobook player.by - September 10, 2002
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Cons:
Review: I just got my Otis and apparently this isn't the same unit being reviewed by others earlier in the year. (Firmware v1.0.0.2, for the record.) Mine came with a nice leather case, there's nothing unusual about the belt-clip (which is very functional), and my battery meter is down only a third after listening for over six hours on the batteries that came with the unit. I find format 2 to be quite enjoyable for listening to audio books. I tried format 3 and didn't notice enough difference to be worth the larger files. It sure beats the quality of audio tapes from the library. My only real complaint is the inability to set bookmarks on MP3 files. I convert streaming media to MP3 (using Total Recorder) to listen on the go, but I can't shut the unit off or I lose my place. It'd also be nice if the time display included hours, instead of just minutes and seconds, but that's just a nit. This player has never locked up on me, as some have reported, and it has an obvious reset-hole like many other electronic devices. It may be that they've solved this problem. Using the Otis with AudibleManager for both Audible formats and MP3 audiobooks is a breeze... just drag and drop. It would be painful for a large music collection, though. Compared to cassette tapes for listening to audio books... no comparison. I listen to unabridged books that are five to 30 hours long... six to 15 cassettes vs one little Otis player. No flipping/changing tapes every thirty minutes, no slamming the darn tapes against the wall trying to get them unjammed, no warble of library tapes that were apparently recorded near the beginning of time. And it's _free_ with just a 12-month subscription now. That's hard to beat. BTW: "Otis" is Latin for "ear".
User Rating: 0.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Two dead Otis players in 4 monthsby - September 3, 2002
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Review: The first player was adequate for listening to books, and I really enjoyed it for about 3 months until it died. I requested a replacement from Audible (customer service generally good, though sometimes slow and the lack of phone suport is annoying). When the new player arrived about a month later, it didn't work at all-it would not even power on. On related note, several books "expired" while I was waiting for the new player. I sent an email to customer service and they added the book credits back into my acount.
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great 1st time playerby - August 23, 2002
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Review: I had been wanting to start using Audible but didn't want to pay the big price for a MP3 player. I waiting until they had a free player with 18 month sign up. I love it. It is great for books. Customer service was excellent at audible, when FEDEX couldn't find my home, they retruned the player to audible. I called and told them I was leaving on a trip in two days, they overnighted me a new player. It is a must for anyone that likes audio books but doesn't want to carry around those big boxes of tapes....
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
At this price you can't beat it!by - August 21, 2002
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Review: Super value for all that it provides. Cassette adapter for the car, earbuds, belt clip and a MMC slot that I can interchange with my iPaq. So far the Otis has been flawless and I get about 15 solid listening hours per battery set.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Tops for audiobooks onlineby - August 20, 2002
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Review: Tried a number of the other models for audiobook use only. None were satisfactory. This is simple to use, few controls to mess up. Excellent for this this purpose. I do not use it for anything else.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Excellent player fo 0$by - July 3, 2002
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Review: well I find its sound is good and thats all I care about besides that it was free with a 12 month subscription.fast data transfer,eq presets,but I like that it has a 5 band eq that you can select your own settings.ordered it sunday got it two days later by fed-ex in Canada got an e mail to tell me it was shipped and tracking # great for what its made for
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
I'm loving this little thing.by - June 28, 2002
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Review: I had a Rio that I got from Audible, and it was a pain in the butt that finally just quit working. Audible, quite properly, agreed to let me add one month to my existing account to get the Otis for the discounted price. So far, so great. I was surprised by how small and light it is. Navigation is basic, but that means it's pretty easy to get the hang of with the exception of the Mode button, which is not especially intuitive. I use it for MP3s as well as Audible files, and it sounds just fine to me. Batteries seem to last forever. Belt clip is unusual, but sturdy and effective. I share some complaints others have had -- it would be nice if it retained your equalizer settings from use to use. And despite what it says in the manual, there really appears to be no Random play mode. That kind of sucks. But all in all I'm very happy with it, and until Audible manages to get other players out there to handle its files, I doubt you can do much better than the Otis.
User Rating: 4.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Otis Picks and Pansby - June 23, 2002
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Review: Picks-- Very stable, reliable compared to other players I have had. one of the smallest mp3 players. made in Korea. (not China). simple and easy to use. Plays MP3, WMA and AA files (Audible.com) expandable memory with MMC card. FYI, AudibleReady standard is a must if you want to listen to audiobooks, spoken word. Pans-- Display provides limited info and scrolling is slow. Plays music files but media software for music transfer is limited. No AC adapter included. All in all, a high quality player. If your listening includes Audiooks and music, its a must. If you want a player exclusively for music, go with another player with more media jukebox software support options.
User Rating: 1.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
The Ginzu knives of MP3 playersby - June 20, 2002
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Review: This inexpensive player is likewise simply of cheapo perhaps even shoddy build quality. The buttons are oddly placed and difficult to use, sometimes seemingly unresponsive. Perhaps it was just my unit but it EATS batteries, even while shut off. It does not come wiht an AC adaptor, I had to reload new batteries every other time I used it. Even the carrying case is made of cheap plastic. This unit is simply not worth the low price, which I imagine cost them about $30 per unit to have it made in some third world country.
User Rating: 2.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
not worth the timeby - June 17, 2002
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Review: if you forget to download your monthly book on time, you lose that book for good! tough medicine if your computer crashes a couple times per year
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great for booksby - June 14, 2002
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Review: I bought this from Audible and have absolutely no complaints. I received it three days after ordering. Upon installation, MS Windows was locking up on reboot. I called Audible and they were very helpful. They suggested I might have a faulty CD and walked me through the computer restore process. I have used Otis with headphones and in the car and both times the sound is good. The only flaw (or benefit, depending on your perspective) is the size. It measures about 3" X 3.5" and the buttons are pretty small. This could be a problem if your eyesight is poor, but there are only a few buttons so after you learn their location, you don't really need to read them.
User Rating: 2.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
No Mac supportby - May 31, 2002
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Review: How hard can it be to come up with a simple driver for this thing. All of its competitors don't have this problem. Still gets a 5 for value as it was FREE!
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Otis is a winnerby - May 30, 2002
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Review: The Otis is solid. It sounds good, and works every time. More than I can say for my other player from an unnamed player manufacturer. I love listening to Audiobooks and and AudibleReady player like the Otis is the only way to go. The bookmarking and memory functions are great!
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great value for audible.com usersby - May 25, 2002
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Review: Replaced my Rio 600 which was giving me nothing but trouble and got no support from the mfg. Otis works much better. Very easy setup and simple to understand and use. Better sound quality, much better controls and control options. Looked at all available units and this is the best value in town. Also, audible.com is a great company to deal with.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
The best for what it isby - May 20, 2002
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Review: I've read some of the reviews - most of them positive and I agree. The negatives - locking up? not on anyone I know that has it (and that's a lot!) - and losy sound quality? get over it - this was designed for audio books. I am an avid audiophile and I listen to my books on 2. It's no worse then a clunky cassette tape and I can fit over 30 hours with the expansion memory - try that with cassette - HELLO! Also, the Otis has place holders so you can pick up where you left off and audible FF and REW. With Audible's amazing content it really has changed my life!
User Rating: 2.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
not bad for books but you lose with mp3'sby - May 9, 2002
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Review: great for listne to the morning paper or listen to a book on long trip but if you want music you have no upload support for it with your favorite players...and the audible maanger is no help for music...look elsewhere!
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Good bargain for audio booksby - May 5, 2002
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Review: It basically comes free with 18 month audible.com subscription for audio books. Audible.com rocks and let you spent your commute much more pleasureable with a novel or studying. And it is quite inexpensive. Here the summary about the player: - Plays audible format 2, 3 (but not 4), and as a bonus WMA, and MP3 files - Support ID3 tagging - Support booksmarks in audible files. - Supports 1 MMC/SD card - Audibles software crashes frequently, accessing the card. Will use external SD/MMC reader, is much faster anyway. - SD/MMC data transfer is painfully slow with 400 kbps. - MP3 qaulity is acceptable but not great. - Uses quite a lot of batteries: 4 hours. For car use, use NiMh batteries or car adapter.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Excellent For Audible Booksby - May 5, 2002
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Review: I bought this unit strictly to support Audible.com books and I find it to be excellent for that purpose. I made the switch to this unit after experiencing on going technical problems with the Rio 800 I had used for Audible books. While this unit does not support the highest quality Audible file (type 4), I find this to be a reasonable compromise at a great price. Controls are easy to handle and Audible support has always been a cut above average. Recommended heartily for Audible support
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
This has changed my life!by - May 2, 2002
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Review: Before I subscribed to Audible.com and recieved my free Otis MP3 player I would occasionally try to listen to books on tape using my old (realtively heavy)sony walkman. I was tired of carrying this heaving thing around while I worked out, bicycled, mowed my lawn, etc. And books on tape were large, expensive and I could never find a good selection. Now with my Audible Otis I have a massive number of audiobooks and other programs to choose from -- all at a set rate with my subscription and all much much cheaper than buying them elsewhere. The selection is also far better than I could ever get at a public libary. Additionally I convert all my old books that I have on CD & audiotape to MP3 format so I can easily listen to them. No instead of only fitting 1 80 min CD or 1 90 min audio cassette in my player and can fit hours and hours (frequently more than 12 hrs) on my MP3 player. Additionally as I am very athletic I love the small size and weight and the convenient clip it comes with. I never even notice that I am carrying it around; whereas my old cd & tape players were always too large, heavy and inconvenient to just carry with me wherever I go. So far I have found the Otis to be very sturdy. I have used it at least 2-3 hours/day for 5 months while biking, bodybuilding, lawnmowing, commuting, etc.. I have accidently dropped it at least 3 times. Once I accidently dropped it and reflexly kicked it. I couldn't believed it survived and still functions perfectly like nothing had happened. This is only my experience I make no guarantees for any one else, i.e. I would not recommend jumping on it or backing your truck over it to see if it will survive. In summary I have found it to be far more suited to an athletic lifestyle - no skipping like cd players (it has no moving parts) and it is very lightweight and small. It has opened a world of knowledge and enjoyment up to me that I never fully realized existed in the past. Now I listen to dozens of excellent books from bestsellers, to classics to financial to scriptures. Now I use 2-3 hours/day of time that I previously only used for exercise, commuting and other work and play (i.e. watching my son at the pool)for 2 purposes: 1. the original purpose (i.e. commuting) and 2. to learn, enjoy and be enlightened by the best books in the world. Contact me if you are thinking of signing up for an Audible account and we can both get a free bonus month. last note: I did try other MP3 players before getting my free Audible Otis and I was disappointed with most of them and have never seen any player that is so much better as to justify not getting the Otis for free. It does everything I need it to do sufficiently, overall it is excellent quality and I'm very happy with it.
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
chews batteriesby - April 30, 2002
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Review: Maybe all MP3 players have this problem but I only have experience with Audible Otis: eats batteries at the rate of 2 for every 60-80 minutes playing time. It took 8 triple A's to listen to 1 novel. When I listen to books on tape on my old Walkman, I get about 10 hours from 2 double A's.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Works good for what it was designed for.by - April 27, 2002
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Review: I just got mine, it was delivered in three days all the way to Kodiak, Alaska. I emailed a question before I recieved it and got an instant 'we're busy it may take us days to respond' email but than I got an email from a real live tech person. There was a phone number so I called. Got through in a couple minutes and he was very helpful. (The problem was not with the player but it says a lot about the customer service.) When I recieved it I activated the device, wasn't too hard, and started downloading to it. The books sound good, the mp3 music is just okay. If music is your thing, get something else.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Sounds Great and is small and lightweightby - April 17, 2002
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Review: Good list of books to download and will work with WMA files as well as mp3
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Only Game In Town!by - April 16, 2002
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Review: If you want to listen to audible.com files AND MP3 music, this is really the only way to go! It does an excellent job of both! The only fault I can find is loosing my equalizer settings when I turn it off. I have my books on the main unit and load MP3 music onto a 64MB MultiMedia card via a card reader, so feel as though I have truly the best of both worlds. If you don't want to spring for the card, you have to use AudioManager to import/load your music, which is less than ideal but 64MB really isn't enough to keep books AND music anyway so do yourself a favor and get the card. Obviously, if all you want is music there are better players but why fault the Otis when it's intended for audio BOOKS??? I consider its musical abilities a huge BONUS. Then switch back and forth without even loosing your place. As for quality, after a piece-of-junk Rio which lasted less than three months this unit feels truly solid to me.
User Rating: 3.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great for Audio Books/Forget for MP3by - April 10, 2002
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Review: Although advertised to play MP3 files, I have yet to be able to download to the device. Real Audio and Windows Meida Player do not support the player at all.
User Rating: 2.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Otis should stick to making elevators!by - April 8, 2002
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Review: I am now on my 3rd Otis player. They tend to crash and there is no way to reset them so I have to return them to Audible. I love the Audible service, I just wish they had a better player.
User Rating: 4.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Check out Audible.com for the latest 64mb OTISby - April 8, 2002
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Review: If you love audio books you need to join Aubible.com where you can get the OTIS Free with an 18 month subscription. You download abridged AND unabridged books once or twice a month {$13 to $16 per month} and they are yours to keep. What a Deal...
User Rating: 2.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Love Audible, loath Otisby - April 5, 2002
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Review: I loved Audible.com with my Rio500. It died after a year and I signed up under the free Otis offer with an 18month commitment. I am very disappointed Otis does not support the high quality format #4. The Otis only plays the low bandwidth #3 and lower #2. I understand why Audible would want to be stingy to reduce their server load, but this #3 compression is terrible. The poor quality really detracts from the experience. If you don't know any better, this is a good value. But, if you like good quality sound, I recommend buying your own player from Amazon that supports #4. Otis is a big disappointment. You can burn the quality format onto CDs. But it is not as convenient as a player. Audible.com is wonderful, I highly recommend checking it out. My Audible membership is the best thing I have done for myself in the last year. Too bad they were skimpy with the Otis features.
User Rating: 4.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Audible.com is greatby - March 27, 2002
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Review: I am a frequent traveler. I have spent about $500 on books. Now, all I have to do is pay 15.95 a month for 2 books a month. I just received the Otis and this device is the greatest thing. Now I can listen to books while I workout, travel, etc...
User Rating: 3.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Good for newbiesby - March 23, 2002
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Review: If your a beginner in mp3 world then its recommend you start with this.Just enough for a start.But if you have tons of mp3s then look elswhere.
User Rating: 2.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Usable for audible.com content ONLY.by - March 15, 2002
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Review: I bought the Otis thinking that I might be interested in audible.com content at some point, but started out using it only for MP3 listening. An absolutely miserable MP3 experience: the sound quality is only fair, all of the settings reset to their defaults when powering-down, and, despite what the instructions say, there was no random play mode available (even with only MP3s installed). On the good side: the carrying case is sharp (although the belt clip is useless), and audible.com customer service was friendly, although they couldn't solve the missing random mode problem. The unit is going back. In the meantime I bought a way-cheap Classic 64M MP3 player, and I'm thrilled with it.
User Rating: 1.5 stars
out of 65 user reviews
0 for 3 so far...by - March 1, 2002
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Review: I've had three of these things thus far, and each one has crashed within 24 hours of opening the box. The unit hangs up right after powering, and nothing works to reset it. Audible has been good about sending replacements, but I haven't heard a single word about diagnosing or fixing this bug. I thought the first one was bad luck, the second was a horrible coincidence... but after three units doing the same thing, I'm convinced the Otis is cheap junk.
User Rating: 4.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Great Device and Valueby - February 23, 2002
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Review: I got the Otis primarily for audio books through audible.com. The support has been great with emailed questions answered with an hour and the value is super. Very small size but with plenty of capacity when you add the 64mb mmc card. I am very please and recommend the Otis as well as Audible.com for those who enjoy audio books.
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
Does exactly what it said it would!by - February 22, 2002
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Review: I ordered the Audible Otis on Monday - it arrived Friday, being sent to Canada! It took about 10 minutes to get it up and running, and it's working absolutely flawlessly! I've put 5.5 hours of Audible programming on it, and there's still almost a third of its 64MB memory free! Outstanding!
User Rating: 5.0 stars
out of 65 user reviews
inexpensive way to keep the brain functioning while driving or doing other activities :)by - January 7, 2002
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Review: i need portable listening. This device works well and is inexpensive
The good: Perfect for listening to Audible.com's wide selection of audiobooks; inexpensive; expandable; plays MP3s.
