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The audiobook files are in mp3 format and come in a zipped folder. You can find instructions for downloading, extracting and listening to them on your device below.
DEVICE/OS
WINDOWS un-zip instructions
Windows 7, 8, & 10 – https://support.microsoft.com/en-hk/help/14200/windows-compress-uncompress-zip-files
MAC OS X un-zip instructions
If you’re using OS X, all you have to do is double-click the zip file. The files will be extracted to the same folder as the zip file.
DOWNLOADING TO A TABLET OR PHONE (iPad, iPhone/iPod, Android Tablet or Phone)
First off, it’s important to note that since the audio files can be played directly from the website, it is not typically necessary to physically download the audio files to your mobile device, unless you specifically need to listen to the audio files on your mobile device while OFFLINE, such as on an airplane or out somewhere where you do not have mobile carrier data or internet.
Additionally, mobile devices have much smaller local storage compared to a desktop computer and they aren’t necessarily designed for downloading large amounts of media files directly onto the devices’ local storage, however it can be done given the device has enough available storage space (approx 485 megabytes).
Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod
Apple mobile devices do not have centralized file management, which means that you must use your desktop or laptop computer to download, un-zip, and then transfer the audio files (via iTunes) to your mobile device.
You may be asking yourself, “Well why then can I easily download audiobooks from Amazon’s Audible App (or similar audiobook service), without using my computer to transfer the files? The answer is because Amazon’s Audible has their own custom iPhone App that downloads and performs the audio streaming and file management for you. Unfortunately, The Good Dog is a smaller operation than Amazon’s Audible service and we do not currently have a custom iPhone App for our audiobooks, however it is not typically necessary to physically download the audio files to your mobile devices’ local storage because the audio files can be streamed on your mobile device directly from the website.
However, if you specifically need to listen to the audio files on your mobile device while OFFLINE, the audiobooks can be downloaded and unzipped using a desktop or laptop computer and moved via “drag and drop” into the corresponding iTunes Library section, where they can be synced with your Apple mobile devices. This is the easiest and most reliable solution.
Android Tablet or Phone
Android devices have centralized file storage, and the same files can be accessed from multiple apps on the device. Downloaded files go the “downloads” folder, where they can be accessed, moved etc. If your Android device is not set up for downloading zip files and accessing their contents, the following free apps are suggested:
- Android File Manager (for Android OS 2.0 and up) – Can access, unzip, manage and open audio files in most compatible apps installed on the device. Unzipped files go into a folder with the same name as the original Zip file, making it easy to manage your audiobooks.
- AndroZip File Manager (for Android OS 2.0 and up) – Can access, unzip, manage and open audio files in any compatible app installed on the device. This app has a few extra options not available in the basic Android File Manager app. But it may display more ads than you would like, unless you opt for a paid version. Some of the free Android apps are like that, with ads until a paid version is downloaded.
For MP3 AudioBook Listening on Android (free apps):
- Music Player – Comes with Android. Not bad for continuous album/audiobook playing
- WinAmp – Full featured player for continuous album/audiobook playing.
File Transfers to/from Android Mobile Devices:
When an Android device is plugged into a desktop or laptop computer with a USB connector, its central storage can be seen like any other storage drive, and files can be transferred (going in either direction), moved or copied easily using the desktop or laptop file manager.
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