Simple device for listening to audiobooks

[Keepingongoing]

Hi, some years ago I assumed a part-time, unpaid position as tech advisor to my elderly DM - as if I knew anything about tech!

This worked ok for some years. She is heavily reliant on audiobooks, listening to them at night to help her fall asleep, and I managed to transition her from one of the earlier iPods to a later generation iPod. Then when that one died, I got her using an old iPhone just for the Audible app. She never really got on with that, and now says that it’s too small for her arthritic hands.

In the last few years her cognitive losses have increased (affecting, among other things, her ability to use her Doro phone). She wants a new device for listening to audiobooks. I think it would be better to have a separate device additional to her Doro. I’m thinking a tablet but it would need to be very, very simple to use. All she’d want to do with it would be listen to audiobooks. She emails, etc, from her desktop.

I’m not nearby so can’t pop round every time she gets stuck.

Any suggestions for a very easy to use tablet?

What about a tablet so it's touch screen she can put her books on a sleep setting no buttons to press. I have a Samsung galaxy and it's easy to use.

Ah you said a Tablet sorry I didn't read your post to the end.

Get her a child’s iPad. Usually the controls are lager and easier to understand.

I listen to audiobooks through my Alexa, voice controlled. Would that work?

I listen to audiobooks on Alexa in the kitchen. Could that work? You would probably need to load them to her account, but she would be able to ask the device to play her book.

Another vote for Alexa, I assume she's got broadband already?

Doro make a tablet for elderly people, here's a review of it:
https://whentheygetolder.co.uk/quality-of-life/pastimes/going-online/the-doro-tablet-for-seniors-product-review/

Another one for Alexa.

Thank you all so much for quick replies! I’ve considered Alexa but DB feels that she’d be unable to learn to use it as she’s never used anything that’s voice assisted. And she gets very, very irritated with voice assisted tech eg answerphones.

Didn’t know there was a child’s iPad, I’ll look into that, and the Doro tablet and Samsung Galaxy

Please let us know what you decide. It’s handy to know for when I’m a bit older.

Father in Law (95 and getting increasingly frail) uses Alexa for Amazon Music. He gets VERY cross when he doesn't remember that he has to say "Alexa play Frank Sinatra" to get it to work. He has a habit of just saying "Alexa, Frank Sinatra" then she happily gives him information about Frank Sinatra but doesn't play the music!

A yoto? They're designed for kids but absolutely no reason you couldn't use one as an adult. You could download the audiobooks from the library etc and put them on the blank Make Your Own cards for her. Then she just pops the card in the slot and it plays.

An iPad (there is no such thing as a ‘childrens iPad’). You can turn an iPad into a more child friendly version by putting parental controls on it, but you’ll have to approve it every time she what’s to download a new book.

I’d go for a iPad, max out the font size in the settings, then use the Shortcuts app to create a shortcut that opens Audible onto the books screen, then make that tile for the shortcut the largest size on the Home Screen.

This might also work for her phone, we got my grandma an iphone and then used Shortcuts so the Home Screen had just 4 large tiles that speed dialled the numbers she needed.

This sounds exactly like what DM would do!

Rather than a simplified smart device, how about going old school with a basic radio that has a few stations plus a memory card you can load audiobooks onto.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095XH6J35/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams

Or an even simpler audiobook player that doesn't do anything else. www.amazon.co.uk/Healvaluefit-Audiobook-Dementia-Alzheimers-Visually-Black/dp/B0CZLHHBC7

@NoBinturongsHereMate wow, never heard of either of those products- thank you for the heads up!

Mum wouldn’t have the capacity to get books onto a memory card, or put the memory card into the radio, so it would be down to me whenever I can manage to visit, which is not often enough for this particular need.

For the audiobook player, do you know if you can put audiobook files ( eg from Audible) onto a TF card?

I don't know, I'm afraid - that was just a random example of the type of thing available, I've not used it. The instructions say it can be done, though.

My stepdad had one of the radio type ones, and it was very easy to use. You'd need to convert the files to MP3 but could get lots on the USB stick I think.

You can turn assistive mode on for apple products. Don't know how audible app works in assistive mode.

Do you have a tablet you could experiment with before committing?

I'e tried assistive mode for my elderly person but they keep rejecting it! But then they are used to the "normal" apple interface.

Set up Alexa or similar and you can then link Audible to that and she can operate it by voice command. You can probably link library audio books to it too. And definitely you can link BBC Sounds to Alexa.

Sorry - I didn't read the thread before posting.