New Audio Book Rental Technology Introduced for Literacy Day

"Jiggerbug's expansion into digital downloads is right on target with where the market is going," said Kristy Holch, InfoTrends analyst. "Now consumers can get fast access to the books they want, in a format perfect for mobile devices like MP3 players. Books can now truly go anywhere music does. With access to the music download crowd, Jiggerbug can expand audio books beyond the traditional market. For those with Internet access, this represents a significant step toward greater utility and ease of use."

The Technology

Powered by the OverDrive Media Console, audio titles will be available in the industry-standard WMA format for easy playback on home computers or on hundreds of portable devices, including MP3 players. Users simply browse for their favorite titles, add them to their Download Cart and complete the online check-out process. Once checked out, a download page is displayed. Users simply click the provided link to download their title. At the end of the digital audio book loan period (14 days), the title will self-expire and be automatically "returned." During the loan period, most titles allow for non-expiring copies to be burned to CD or moved to a portable player.

"With podcasting and other forms of instant digital entertainment growing at near-exponential rates, we know that our new Digital Download service will be well-received by this burgeoning and savvy group of users," explained Ryan Azevedo, CEO of Jiggerbug. "We are in the process of creating the world's largest collection of best-selling audio book titles and will continue to seek out new ways and technology to make these volumes of knowledge and entertainment readily accessible. With the addition of our new all-digital offering, we are one step closer to that goal."

Designed to be fast, simple and efficient, Jiggerbug offers several membership options depending on readers' audio rental desires. The Freshman plan is $19.95 for unlimited mail service rentals sent one at a time. For fast "readers," the Commuter plan offers two mail service titles at the same time plus one additional Instant Download every 14 days for $24.95 per month. For the true book aficionado (heavy readers who want five or more at a time plus two additional simultaneous Instant Downloads every 14 days) a premium membership, the Bookworm, is offered at $39.95 per month.