Commercial audiobooks on CD retail at around, or in excess of, the hard-cover version of that book. If this device comes anywhere between that and the lower price point of the paperback version, it’s a winner. Unfortunately, whatever the production cost, there’s a good chance the publishing industry will want to squeeze out every last penny.

I can buy a blank CD for less that fifty cents. Even the most rudamentary MP3 players cost fifty to a hundred times that amount.

Even if I need 10 CDs per book, and the MP3 player has some ways to fall in price if it ever becomes as ubiquitous as the CD, I can’t see it getting “much less” than a CD.

As the production and distribution costs of the media trend toward zero, the impact on cost of changing media becomes insignificant. Whether you send it across the ether or buy it on a piece of cheap plastic or silicon, the other costs still remain.

@Jason: Any chance you can get me some specific info on these products? I’m interested in tracking success (or otherwise) of this distribution method.

Good points: Easy for the less-tech-savvy to figure out. Good for the publishers is reduces the threat of piracy.

Bad points: By embracing the limitations of the current media, some of the benefits of technology are lost: e.g. I have around 30 podcasts on my iPod, I don’t want to carry around 30 of these things. Also, production costs are increased and you need a physical sales channel.