BARD Mobile Reviews

Upgrade broken

LeilaniKia

I used to LOVE BARD, but the 1.2 upgrade is broken - I can no longer listen to anything. When I click on Bookshelf, the app just hangs, and I have to completely exit. Please fix ASAP

App keeps crashing

Mia harp

Please fix the app it keeps crashing I can getting to change books or listen to books or do anything it just crashes Then I can update and fix my rating but otherwise right now I won't fix it

Unable to play a book with v1.2

CA240

I reinstalled it and tried to play a book but the app again freezes when you click “audio books” to view the books you downloaded. Did anyone test this new release? Was great for the past two years until this release.

recent Terrible network connection

liam pen

I tried to download some books just Afew minutes ago and it said that the network connection had been lost. Fix this problem right now! And don’t say that there is a problem if you don’t give me any way to solve it and it keeps saying that my log in information is incorrect.

App not responsive

Crazyhorse 108

When I am in the bookshelf area it is unresponsive does not move. Please fix

Freezes

Amay1620

Tapping on anything in Bookshelf causes the app to freeze. I like the new features I just can’t listen to anything right now.

V1.2 freezes

Vlad Dr

In V1.2, app is freezing whenever one tries to access any bookshelf. The solution of going to the settings app and selecting ‘Setting Initialisation’ (suggested by a developer in response to someone else’s review) did nothing for the problem, for me. In having to re-log-in, I lost access to the book I was reading. I went from being stuck reading one book over and over again to having no book(s) to read. Not a solution, very disappointed face. Played around, and found I can access downloaded books by going to ‘Get Books’->’Previous Downloads’. Hope that helps others, and the app gets fixed soon!

Gym in Gainesville Florida

Jim from Gainesville FL

This app is greatly improved. Still some problems reviewing books and doing searches. Getting kicked back to the main screen or the Bard website main page. Otherwise this is a very strong app and definitely has put the analyst service in the palm of our hands. Great job NLS.

I’m so frustrated

Merry369

Once again my app isn’t letting me access my books. If I have more than one book downloaded at a time the app won’t work. This was my favorite app and the only good thing about my disability— now I don’t even have this.

June update breaks the app on latest touch and iPad.

princessdenada

I am updating this review after reloading my sister’s device. I updated her to the latest app version the day it came out but did not test it, when she opened the app the next day and tried to click on the bookshelf, it crashed. After s visit to the Genius Bar and a family techie, our only option was to reload the device. Deleting the app did not work, Now that she can use the app again, I have more thoughts on the app itself. I am not bashing the app. This service provided by the library of congress is free ton the blind and disabled. Bard, voice dream and bookshare opened up my sister’s world again. She literally wept hearing on realizing that books she thought she would never have the option to read were now available. There are some drawbacks to the app version that should be addressed: 1. Your bookmarks and last location are not saved or synced. After the app crashed, there was no way to know where She was or what was bookmarked in all the books on the bookshelf. All of it was lost. That also means you can not sync a book between other devices on the same account. It should be seamless to use the app on a phone and iPad or iPod Touch and Kindle. At the very minimum, the option to backup locations and bookmarks to iCloud or other cloud service should be added. 2. Every download counts. Yes, there is a limit. If you download a book once for an iPhone and use the same account to load that same book to a second device like an iPad or kindle fire, it counts against you. There appears to be a limit of 100 downloads (not books) per month. If you want to listen on your phone on the go and your kindle or iPad at home, each download of that book counts equally against that limit. 3. There is no way to listen to a preview and some of the books are by necessity lower quality due to their very advanced age or original recording media. If you want to preview a book you must download the whole book. If you preview it and decide it’s not for you it still counts as part of your 100 download limit. Some of the books are out of print or have never been reviewed. Sometimes the narrator just doesn’t sound pleasing to you. A preview option would be great. Reviews would be a great option. 4. You can not backup your downloads. Most users know the importance of backing up. If you religiously backup your device, the books you download are not backed up. If you buy a new device or have a crash you will be downloading every book and as mentioned above there is a monthly limit. 5. When you go over the monthly limit, instead of not downloading, the book downloads in the app (wasting bandwidth) but when you open it it says content is protected and you can’t listen to it and must delete the book. A better way to track available downloads would be great. 6. This is not audible. If you don’t have much space, have a low bandwidth data plan, or limits on cable, it might be better to use the loc/bard players where you download to usb flash drives. If you remove a book on mobile due to space issues and then download again later, you can not seamlessly return to your bookmarks or last location. You will also run out of monthly downloads. Unfortunately, with cloud computing becoming the norm, space on devices is premium. With a blind or disabled person who relies on their device for everything from reading to translating, that space is already limited. 7. There are frequent errors when downloading books and unpacking the books in the app. That means downloading again and over again in some cases. This can hurt when you are on a bandwidth limit. I have found the best way to ensure successful download is by doing so one book at a time, not playing or listening to anything else and not leaving or touching the screen until the download is finished.

BARD Mobile Reviews – Page 5