Audio books and the Prius

I am addicted to audio books and have some important tips which I have figured out on my own and with the help of friends on Prius Chat. It sounds like your Prius does not have a USB port, only an audio jack. This means that you would need to connect your USB player through an audio cord identical to a headphone cord. You would not be able to control the MP3 player via the factory installed equipment. So, if you connect via the audio jack, it does not really make much difference which MP3 player you purchase, from the perspective of the vehicle.

However, you can have Toyota install an iPod jack. My Prius was one of the first to be manufactured with a USB port. But the USB/iPod interface and navigation of files (songs, books, etc) once you connect the MP3 player to the Prius is extremely user unfriendly and so crude that it is really not usable. In addition to this, if you download books from Audible.com, the Prius is unable to remember where you stopped listening, so each time you stop the vehicle it looses your place and you start from the beginning.

I would suggest you take a look at some of the PriusChat discussions on iPods and other MP3 players.

There is one other way to use audio books from an MP3 player and still have some ability to pause/resume the MP3 player without picking up the device: Bluetooth. Your Prius probably has the ability to recognize a Bluetooth capable MP3 player (such as the latest iPod Touch). If this is the case, you can pause and resume a track via the factory installed audio system. But be careful, there are many versions of Bluetooth, and only the latest offer audio streaming. Also, note that the phone Bluetooth is separate from the audio streaming. You may have both a phone and MP3 player connected by Bluetooth simultaneously.

I hope this help. I really have not yet figured out the best solution. So if anyone else out there has any ideas, please let me know.

CD's may not be so bad.

 

Try a search on MP3 Players.

I found this as it may be helpful:

Originally Posted by PriusGirlyGirl
I found two Radio Shack cords for MP3 players. But don't know which is better and works/compatible with my center console Aux. Jack? Can I use both?

3-Ft. 1/8" Stereo Plug Cable - RadioShack.com

Griffin 1/8" Auxiliary Audio Cable for iPod® and iPhone™ - RadioShack.com
Be sure to get one that's shielded, to avoid hearing electrical interference

 

I have listened to the iPod using the auxiliary jack, which works fine. But you have to remember to turn off the iPod when you turn off the audio system or the car itself, because it won't turn off the iPod automatically. Now I have an iPod Touch and was able to download the latest software that allows you to connect to your audio system through Bluetooth. This works very well -- although you don't have all the controls, such as fast forward or track up and down, when you turn it off, the iPod will also turn off. It's pretty neat to be able to listen to your iPod through the stereo system wirelessly.

I used to copy library audiobooks to iTunes and then download them to my iPod. It's a lot of trouble though (although I can give you a few tips if you really want to know). Now I buy audiobooks through Audible.

I still listen to library audiobooks using the CD player.

 

Have
Itech Prius - Aux connection and no USB connection
Ipod Classic 80Gb - lots of music, French and Italian language lessons, about 4 weeks of audiobooks, plenty of travel podcasts and about 43 days of converted movies. (set up for 20 hour flights from Oz to London)
Kensington LiquidAux to connect to Prius with earth loop isolator and remote mounted on centre console.

I decided the best iPod interface was on the iPod itself and I choose my music/entertainment before starting to drive then jst use the remote function to stop/start and skip.
Also no lockouts so passenger can make selections anytime (especially on a long trip as the cord is long enough for me as passenger to watch one of the videos).

David

 

I'm not 100% sure of this (hopefully somebody can verify) but I seem to remember that if you have the iPod connected to a car charger it will pause automatically when the car is turned off. If you have it set to power down after a certain period of inactivity then it will turn off automatically as well.

 

I will post some tips later. I haven't done it in quite a while so I will have to refresh my own memory. Do you have an iPod, btw? The process might be quite different for other MP3 players.

 

I use audio books all the time in my Prius... my local public library has an outstanding collection, so I don't have to worry about buying them. The electronic audio books, like the ones sold on iTunes (I have an iPod and iPhone) are very expensive, much more than their hard copy counterparts. I think you can get a slight better price of the same book ordering it online in the CD format.

I have played songs and audio books through my 2010 Prius model III auxiliary jack, quality is OK, but nothing compares to the CD quality.

The 6-Cd changer in my Prius usually gets through 1/2 to 1/3 of a novel, so the ejecting and loading process is not too bad.

 

If you're looking at a site like Audible.com, $7.50 would be an introductory/promotional fee. After the initial promotional period (usually 3 months), it's around $15.00 per month for one 1 book credit (plus the occasional free gift or 2-for-1, etc.) So, it's a little expensive, but cheaper (usually) compared to buying unabridged recordings on CD and much more convenient. If you've found a site where the regular fee is $7.50/month -- please let me know!

I ride the Metro to work, which is when I do most of my listening on the iPod. If I'm driving, I generally listen to the CDs from the library.

 

I too am an Audible member and like their prices/selection very much. I just download whatever audiobook I want to my iPhone and never take it out of my pocket since it is synced via bluetooth.

The really nice thing is that when I power down, my iPhone pauses playback. And when I get back in the car and power on, it resumes playback without having to even touch my iPhone.

The only thing that I miss is being able to control it via steering wheel, which hopefully will come in a firmware update.

 

So are you saying you use the iPod program on your iPhone 3g to play audio books and music via blutooth? I thought it would only recognize the phone feature? Would you please share exactly how you have it set-up? tks, bricor

 

I don't remember doing anything special other than syncing my iPhone to the Nav. When I want to listen to music/audiobooks on it, I just hit the BT button on the Nav screen.

 

yes, on a system with nav. you pair your iphone twice, once as a phone and once as a bluetooth audio device (specifically, "car multimedia"). There's a separate setup screen. You need to set the password on the car to be the same for both the phone and the audio bluetooth.

 

Thanks. This suggestion works great. I was able to listen to an audiobook by connecting my iPhone to the interface through bluetooth.

but when you connect to audio streaming, your phone connection is ended...the strange thing is, while listening to an audiobook I received a phone call which I was able to answer. After I hung up, the audiobook picked up from where I left off. So I guess the interface lets you receive calls when using BT audio streaming but not make them. I think Toyota should have tested this interface more...maybe there's an update coming.

BTW the BT audio will also work with a Blackberry.

 

my iphone will do both. I can be listening to the Pandora app, hit the phone button on the steering wheel and make a call. Why do you think your phone connection is ended?

 

I have a question: I listen to audio books in my Prius via my iPod and am having trouble scrolling through chapters. I can scroll through pages using the seek tab but not chapters. Do you know how? Also, when I turn off the car and turn it back on, sometimes it takes me back to the begining. Any suggestions?