Textbooks Come to the IPod
College students will soon be able to view their textbooks using iPhones or iPod Touch devices, PC World reports.
CourseSmart, a California company that has already made more than 7,000 digitized textbooks from 12 publishers available to its subscribers through their computers, recently added E-textbooks for the iPhone to its offerings. Users can download the application that allows them to read the new iPod-friendly texts for free through Apple's App Store, but users are required to pay for the textbooks themselves at a fee that is about 60 to 75 percent of a traditional book's cost.
PC World writer Todd Weiss points out that there are some drawbacks to this new offering:
First, we're talking about reading a large textbook on a small iPhone or iPod Touch screen. It may be neat to imagine, but it may not be so easy to use, especially when you are looking for information and you just can't seem to locate it on the device's small screen. How likely is it that students will actually want to do this and will find it as productive as reading a traditional paper book? And what happens when your Internet connection is down and you can't access your books? Believe me, this will happen sometimes.
Then there's the potential for cheating at exam time when students can stealthily view their iPod to get information from an e-textbook to answer a tough exam question. Hey, it could happen. Maybe you'll have to leave your iPhones and iPod Touches at the door as you enter the exam room to prevent cheating. Could we eventually see students being patted down by hand for their iPhones or iPod Touches at exam time as they enter the room?
Would you like to read a textbook on your iPhone? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Reader Comments
Text Books coming to the IPOD
I think this is a great if the devices that I am using I will be able to hear the book come alive witha voice in other words if I can be driving to work or school and be able to listen to my text book. I work a full time job and take classes at night and the Instructors do not have a problem with assigning you with three chapters to read plus a test and other assignments every week and that is just one class.
and, guess what??
I just realized that I can read that Flat World Knowledge Econ book on my iPod for FREE, in its entirely. SO can you. Check it out...
http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/printed-book/1628
Let's see Coursesmart match that!
Coursemart prices are nothing special. Where's the beef?
"60 to 75 percent of a traditional book's cost." ??? What's so great about that, with textbooks regularly costing upwards of $150-$200? Selling books at this price point on the iPod is almost a joke, because you can't sell back the book after you're finished with it. If I buy a $150.00 print book, I can sell it back for almost $75. So the book cost me $75 in toto. If I buy the same book on the iPod, it's going to cost me at lest 60% of list - that's $90, and I can't sell it back. So where's the deal, AND I have to read it on my iPhone??? Give me a break!!
For a real price revolution, with quality and no sucker-punches, one of my teachers just adopted a book from Flat World Knowledge. It's a Principles of Econ book and it's authored by a top Economics Prof. It's FREE online, in its entirelty, AND I can buy the print edition for only $30! I can also buy it in other forms. I just bought one of the first chapters as an Mp3 (audio) for only $4.00. Noe THAT's a deal.
The early experience with the Econ book is making me look really hard at open licensed textbooks. Anyone who thinks paying $90 for a book you can only read on an iPod or on a computer is a deal is living on Mars. The publishers are still screwing us!
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