Would Students Even Want a Kindle for Textbooks?
We speculated about this yesterday, and by now, it looks like a given that Amazon will release a larger version of its Kindle eBook reader tomorrow that will focus on the college textbook market. While the exact hardware specs are not quite clear yet, it does seem logical that Amazon would like to push its eBook reader into this market segment. After all, according to some estimates, the textbook market is worth almost $9 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. We do wonder, however, if students will really like this idea. After all, virtually every student already owns a portable device with a nice screen for reading eTextbooks: their laptops.
In some ways, wouldn't it be more advantageous for students if Amazon and its partners released a Kindle for the Desktop similar to the Kindle for an iPhone app? Some of the current eTextbook offerings, like CourseSmart, already give students the option to download eTextbooks for a considerable discount. But at least on CourseSmart, these texts are only available as 180 day subscriptions. For most students, though, that is probably not too much of an issue.
Reading Textbooks is Different from Reading a Novel
Reading textbooks is a very different activity from reading a regular book. Students, hopefully, don't just read the text, but actively take notes, highlight sections, and annotate their texts. While the Kindle offers some of these functions, the absence of a touchscreen makes for a rather clunky experience.
In addition, students who use notetaking software would probably also want to be able to copy-and-paste text and images from their eBooks to their favorite software (Microsoft has been pushing its OneNote application heavily on college campuses, for example). Kindle eBooks also won't allow users to print any part of the text.
With a dedicated hardware device like the Kindle, students lose all of these abilities and gain relatively little compared to using the laptops they already own. Of course, the Kindle is a great eBook reader, and its screen makes reading a lot easier. But for the purpose of studying, it will remain to be seen if Amazon can find ways around some of the disadvantages a dedicated eBook reader would have over a good desktop application that students could use on their laptops.
Let Us Know What You Think
Let us know what you think of the Kindle as a dedicated textbook reader in the comments, especially if you are currently a college student or instructor.
CC-licensed image used courtesy of Flickr user Chrysaora.
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You note:
'In addition, students who use note taking software would probably also want to be able to copy-and-paste text and images from their eBooks to their favorite software (Microsoft has been pushing its OneNote application heavily on college campuses, for example). Kindle eBooks also won't allow users to print any part of the text."
This is incorrect. You can highlight text on the Kindle. Doing so saves the highlighted text to your My Clippings.txt file that can be accessed from any computer when you plug the Kindle into your computer via USB. The text in it can be copy and pasted anywhere, including into applications like OneNote. You can also print the file. That's pretty flexible, albeit not as natural as underlining with a pen (but infinitely more searchable).
Also you can take screenshots of any page in the Kindle (so images as well) by hitting ALT + SHIFT (the up arrow) + G. The screenshot is saved to a GIF file inside the documents folder on the Kindle, which is again accessible via USB connection to a computer. Then that picture can be printed, pasted into OneNote, etc.
I think there is no doubt that students will use a textbook specific Kindle...it will be huge.
You do bring up a good point about laptops. I don't think they are anywhere close to an alternative to the much more portable, longer batter, easier to read Kindle. However, it would probably be very helpful to also have a desktop app where readers could reference books while working on their laptop. Copy/paste, get biblio info, etc.
A bigger Kindle will be good for students where their laptops will not. The battery on the Kindle beats out anything even remotely near that form factor by a large margin. The screen is a super high DPI that lets them read at a natural speed. As long as they're able to do annotations reasonably, it should work.
As for why not a Kindle reader for PC & Mac? Come on. Day 1 will be spent reading purchased textbooks laden with Kindle DRM. Day 2 will be running the DRM-breaking software some 20-year old CS major wrote, then the students would never pay for another textbook again. Napster for books is the last thing the publishing industry wants, so they're not going to let anything slip through the walls Amazon's built around the Kindle.
Of course, it could still fail. The price could be too high ($360 is actually a fantastic bargain for what you get), or the students could hate the device lock-in, or the experience of using a textbook would be so different than a novel that the Kindle's hardware limitations make it unpleasant to use. We shall see.
I love my kindle, but I've stopped buying non-fiction for it. Anything which I need to flip around in is simply too cumbersome for the format. It might be feasible to read a textbook in a kindle, but I cannot see referencing one while studying. Worse, that assumes that I'll be studying from one book at a time - compare swapping books in the Kindle to the utility of keeping multiple physical books open at once.
I'm very bullish on the future of ebooks on campus, but It really doesn't seem like the Kindle (or any other current reader) is ready to make the leap yet.
-Rob D.
I think Amazon is wasting its time on this and should focus on novels/magazines. First of all, textbooks are much different then novels and other books. As the reporter mentioned textbooks are a much more interactive prodcut - undergrads highlight and take notes on pages, grad students (especially law students) write very liberally on the pages and refer to these notes in class. Kindle might allow users to highlight electronic elements but at the end of the day isn't a textbook just easier. Next, most students have a laptop already, are students also going to want a pricey Kindle as well, especially when e-books and textbooks are already available for PCs and Macs. Also something Amazon fails to realize is the tremendous commodity used books are. College kids purchase books and at the end of the semester can't wait to sell their textbooks for going out money. Students are drawn to used books because they contain the previous users highlights and notes. Unless Amazon is prepared to allow student to "sell" "share" their used Kindle books I don't see a way to overcome the importance of the secondary market. Lastly, I don't know what kind of software the Kindle uses but when the movie and recording industry struggle in vain to curb pirating, what makes Amazon think its product is fully protected. It is after all college students who made file sharing what it is today why wouldn't this occur with e-textbooks as well. Amazon should solidify Kindle's place in the e-book field before wasting its time on this product extension, they are barking up a very wrong tree.
@C.K. - that's true, but that's not exactly an elegant solutions. How many students would want to go through all of those steps just to take notes?
Weight. 40 lbs of textbooks versus a two or three pound reader is no contest. and if the digital version had even a five percent discount over the printed copy, it would pay for itself. Plus you'd never have to go hunting for an out of stock book, or get stuck with the wrong edition. And if the online version of a textbook had even a small discount, the Kindle would pay for itself.
Well, as someone who teaches students and who has to think twice about the ethics of asking students to pay in excess of $300-400 for textbooks every semester, knowing full well that publishers inflate both the costs and the sizes of those texts, I think that, if done right, this idea could take off and not only save money for students but also make money for publishers. Modern students are quite adept at reading and working on mobile devices of all sorts, so why not? I am not a businessman, but I think publishers would make a killing if they did two things: considered licensing textbooks under CC and offered electronic versions (for Kindle or other devices) for relatively cheaply.
As for the possible disappearance of the user textbooks, that is a concern, and, somewhat cynically, I have no doubt that publishers will try to make that happen.
I actually wrote a blog post about this. Being a college student, I would not buy an Amazon Kindle. You can see why by clicking my name to hit the link.
Basically, its too expensive, ugly, one-dimensional, and not practical.
I think students would support textbooks on the Kindle if, and only if, a downloaded textbook was less than $40. I am tired of paying hundreds of dollars for a textbook and not be able to sell it back. An e-textbook would minimize printing costs for textbook companies and they would still be able to generate large amounts of revenue through digital editions. It seems like a natural marriage, that could prevent massacring trees.
I would say the only draw back would be selling back a textbook and getting drinking money from it.
I think the laptop vs. eBook debate is wrong. When you walk around a university library or see someone involved in book-based research, the typical scene involves multiple forms of printed media... several books, paper notebooks and laptops... all open at the same time for cross-referencing and note taking. We'll soon be at a point where the price of a couple, expensive paper textbooks justifies the price of switching to eBooks. After that, I see a future where college students and researchers will have several eBooks plus their laptop so that they can re-create the experience of having multiple books open at the same time. It will take time for this to happen from a pricing and technology perspective but it will happen.
@Chris
"its too expensive, ugly, one-dimensional, and not practical"
Huh? Reading your text books should happen on a non-ugly device? So are you saying that all your printed text books are good looking?
The Kindle costs is about that of 1 text book for an advanced course. If we can expect electronic versions of textbooks to sell cheaper, you could easily make up the cost in 2-3 quarters.
Sorry Chris, but your arguments just don't cut it. What college do you go to again?
@Frederic - I think many who have the money to afford a Kindle would adjust to those extra steps in order to no longer have to carry multiple books around campus. It won't be the majority, but it should be enough to keep the Kindle profitable for Amazon.
After three years of dragging around 6+ law books weighing 25+ pounds each and in many cases costing $125+ per book, I would love to see a well-done e-book reader like the Kindle.
Potential problems: some kinds of reading/books/subjects require more "random access" to pages than e-books tend to support; paper cost should be the main reason my books cost 100+, but I suspect publishers are not going to drop prices too much (just enough to undercut the market), and they're going to want to prevent a secondary market (so we can't get money back for selling our books at the end of the term).
Nonetheless, for three of my classes this term, a Kindle device would be PERFECT for all my books, provided the initial cost was reasonable.
I think it's a good idea, but DRM has the potential to mess up what the format may already make a bit awkward. So I'm reserving judgment.
Kris (3L, and Law & Tech grad student)
Absolutely, I would prefer to read a text book, especially a heavy one with many notes and references, in electronic form.
I pointed out to a textbook author I know how inconvenient a book of his was to read. On encountering a numbered superscript in the text one had to stop reading, find the notes at the end of the chaper, find the right note, read it, note the reference, turn to the references, note the reference. Then resume reading.
This constant back and forth got old pretty quickly and it would be instantly obsolete with an electronic reader. An ability to bookmark references to a web-based service would add significant value too.
I think it's going to come down to one thing: Price of the e-Book
I've read that Amazon is primarily trying to go after the used textbook market with this device since publishers make $0 off of a used textbook. If they eliminated used textbooks by making students pay full price for the ebook each time, then publishers make a lot more. Example: in the Current text book model student A pays publisher $400 for a new text book, then sells it to student B for $200, then student c buys it for $100, then student D buys it for $50, etc, etc, etc. So the publisher only makes $400 off of the initial sale. In this Kindle model, Amazon could sell the new ebook for $100 each time, meaning Student A buys it for $100, Student B buys it for $100, student C buys it for $100, Student E, F, G, H, I, J, etc, etc, etc... all for $100 = much more for the publisher, not to mention lower overhead for materials, printing, shipping, etc = higher profit.
So i think for this to work successfully, Amazon is going to have to price their ebook versions of textbooks at used textbook prices. If the ebook versions don't compete with those prices, then I think the overwhelming majority of students will stick with used books regardless of the features of a kindle. Hopefully, they sell the ebook versions for a low cost. Otherwise, it'll probably be less than 30 days before some college student hacks the Kindle and figures out a way for students to share the digital copies for free.
As someone planning to return to school this fall, I am very interested in the possibility of using a Kindle instead of buying textbooks. Obviously the cost per textbook download would be a big factor in determining cost-effectiveness, but considering most textbooks are $100-$150, I think even a $50 download would make the Kindle worthwhile over a few years. Also the option of carrying around one device vs. 3 or more huge books is appealing.
I take exception to the "Students, hopefully, don't just read the text, but actively take notes, highlight sections, and annotate their texts" comment from the article though; I graduated last year from an undergraduate program with straight As and never made a mark in a textbook.
@Frederic - I think a critical question to ask is "what about the culture of buying books and selling them back to the on-campus publishers?" In the US, the text book market at colleges revolves around a cycle of students buying and selling text books. With digital, that market disappears. Students today are usually willing to pay the high price for text books because they know they'll be able to sell them back (or on amazon etc) for a percentage of the original price - the reseller market for this reason is huge. I think you're correct - this kindle for text books is likely a bad idea.
Why bother with a kindle even.
students would be better off with software they can install on machines they already own. Software that will allow them to work on their books online and on their desktops so they can work on the projects alone or in groups as needed for some classes.
I think it all depends on the price of the Kindle and the price of the ebooks. If Amazon sells the ebooks similar to current Kindle prices, then the Kindle will win the textbook market. The price and weight will be a big improvement over traditional texts. If the ebooks cost current textbook prices ($99.99 instead of $9.99), then it will flop.
Thanks for all the great comments everybody!
The prices for textbooks are definitely a major issue these days. I try to assign relatively affordable books to my own students so that we end up with less than $50 to $75 for the class in the end, but that's not even half of what some science textbooks cost.
Selling textbooks back is definitely deeply ingrained in the college bookstore culture, but if the electronic edition is already 50% cheaper, then reselling texts won't be an issue anymore. And, of course, thanks to yearly updated issues where a page or two were changed, publishers are trying to undercut the used textbook market anywhere.
But in the end, do students really need an additional device besides their laptops to access these e-texts?
i think for this to work successfully, Amazon is going to have to price their ebook versions of textbooks at used textbook prices
They will read on their cheap netbooks that have more functionality.
Who needs custom software, hardware, and special "ebook" formats to contain large quantities of text and images? Not students, or even faculty. We have HTML for that. You can search, link, embed videos or sound, change the font or use accessibility options, print out or COPY chunks of it... I think that's why they call it "hypertext!" Some clever person can probably figure out how to recreate the experience of highlighting or annotating the margins, or maybe there's a Firefox plugin for that already. How much would that be worth? $1000/semester for a license? It's obvious but it bears repeating: ebooks are a form of DRM designed to perpetuate publishers' control.
A lot of good comments. Hope the e-book designers are reading and keeping notes. I am working on a book and using on-line sources (mostly google) for the books. I am using a Sony e-book reader, and am quite happy with it. However, it is not remotely an "ebook" that I have been dreaming about for a long time now. I have found that to use the Sony (PRS 505) effectively, it becomes a satellite device to my Laptop, where I have maybe 30 Gb of data stored for my book. I depend heavily on Windows (well the directory system) and Google Desktop to help me find things (I now have over 750,000 files on my Laptop).
I download all of the materials to the Laptop (and then make copies to a 1TB drive for backup), then download to the Sony. I have a 2Gb chip in it, so I now have about 1,000 books and papers on it--with maybe room for another 400. The unit has a second slot for a duo-Pro chip, that has 4-8Gb of address space. So, I might buy a second chip to continue adding books.
There are many, many, deficiencies in the design, as is. The PRS 700 has added some LEDs for low-light conditions, and a search function. However, there is still no on-line dictionary, or wireless access so downloading is a bit annoying.
I take notes on bar napkins, and then transcribe them onto my notes files. This works fine, but is obviously not "state of the art". What I want to do is drag my finger over a line, or paragraph--and then be able to transfer that text to my Laptop/PC as text with a header that identifies the text's origin. Having this sort of feature would be great, but it's not a "deal killer".
In this domain, it's possible that a redesign of the book is possible, but that is beyond the scope of today's discussions.
Plastic Logic has a really good idea, which will reduce the weight of the device, and make it more rugged (by making it flexible) so that these things will not be so easily broken:
Next Generation of E-book Readers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWRpkIQrjYo&feature=channel_page
Another thing that needs attention is swapout program for repairs. People should be able to simply take a broken unit back and swap it out for a rebuilt/new unit without having to deal with a centralized customer support unit that is dealing with a large number of devices. A personal e-book used at school is very different than a walkman that is used for pleasure. A dysfunctional ebook can mean the difference between passing and failing in the University environment. The e-book manufactures need to understand that.
It takes some months to really appreciate the capabilities of the current generation of ebook readers. For serial reading, they are great. For navigating and flipping, this will have to wait for another generation of hardware and software.
Current textbooks make abundant use of color in graphs, pictures, diagrams, molecular arrangements and photographs. They have margins you can write in, text you can highlight and pages you can dog ear(bookmark). All of these functions can be in a future reader but certainly not all are in the current kindle 2. A larger screen, better contrast, higher resolution and back lighting when needed will all help as well. No doubt some future kindle will have all these features but in the meantime laptop computers will have to fill this bill. As laptops become thinner and smaller they probably will become the readers of choice. The Mac Air would be ideal if it was less expensive. We still haven't come close to a reader for the bath tub. Water proof Air anyone?
Do you guys seriously not use the library? And how do you know a book's any good for your research unless you use it first - it's not a novel, you have to use it in my experience. As a mature student at university, i was the only person who bought the course books - everyone else illegally photocopied the pages they needed. They weren't poor just stingy. The university subscribed to loads of specialist journals and we used this free, online, available to 30 students at once resource far more than books. I know UK undergraduate essays are much more advanced than US (i have talked to lots of people, you get harder than us at masters level, weird) so most of what you learn you are expected to find out for yourself. So you needed lots of books, not one course book. But nonetheless the free library book is surely going to win?
I'm a graduate student who uses a laptop+OneNote to take class notes and I would not consider using the Kindle even if it had all my textbooks available and my laptop could not be used to access them.
The last thing I want is to have to carry around yet another electronic device. In addition, the Kindle does not offer enough interactivity with the material to be useful. I want to integrate and consolidate the information I need, not spread it across multiple resources.
As others noted, while the cost-per-etextbook might eventually make a strong argument for the Kindle, until the textbooks are available online or through my laptop directly, I'll be using real books.
I know you're mostly talking about college texts, but K12 is a hugh textbook market, but I don't see it rushing to ebooks.
I teach middle school, and have yet to see a technology robust enough to work with active pre-teens. That includes cell phones. I sure don't envision first grade teachers standing in front of the class with a Kindle reading to them. Part of enjoying books is the tactile and sensory - hugely important in education of children (and I'll bet for adults, too). I love my Kindle for some things, but it's not the only way I read, and never will be.
The last thing I want is to have to carry around yet another electronic device. In addition, the Kindle does not offer enough interactivity with the material to be useful. I want to integrate and consolidate the information I need, not spread it across multiple resources.
In this domain, it's possible that a redesign of the book is possible, but that is beyond the scope of today's discussions.
I am a Kindle 1 user and LOVE IT! I would definitely use the Kindle DX since carrying around 120lbs of books is just too hard on the back and to be able to press a button for that book in my English class and go to the page the teacher says to turn to. Now I press another button as I go to my science class and all I was carrying was a Kindle. I'm sorry, but I think that alone besides the savings of the text books would be a godsend.
As a college student I feel that even though my laptop may be more sufficient when using ebooks for textbooks and studying purposes. My laptop is very heavy adn become a burden to constantly be carring around. The kindle on the other hand is light weight and small which would allow me to carry my textbooks with me to class all the time. In addition, being a student in NYC I travel via public transportation and would like to be able to read and study on the go as well. My laptop doesnt necessarily do that for me.
If it is possible to get the textbooks available for the kindle i think it would be great for college students.
As a college student I feel that even though my laptop may be more sufficient when using ebooks for textbooks and studying purposes. My laptop is very heavy adn become a burden to constantly be carring around. The kindle on the other hand is light weight and small which would allow me to carry my textbooks with me to class all the time. In addition, being a student in NYC I travel via public transportation and would like to be able to read and study on the go as well. My laptop doesnt necessarily do that for me.
If it is possible to get the textbooks available for the kindle i think it would be great for college students
I'm a graduate student who uses a laptop+OneNote to take class notes and I would not consider using the Kindle even if it had all my textbooks available and my laptop could not be used to access them.
The last thing I want is to have to carry around yet another electronic device. In addition, the Kindle does not offer enough interactivity with the material to be useful. I want to integrate and consolidate the information I need, not spread it across multiple resources.
As others noted, while the cost-per-etextbook might eventually make a strong argument for the Kindle, until the textbooks are available online or through my laptop directly, I'll be using real books.
One thing it seems that have been missed: E-books are not your own! Amazon can and does regularly delete people's e-books Including all thier notes. If you want to take notes you need to buy a copy of a book, and e-book cannot be bought at any price. E-textbooks can also be changed and edited at a moments whim. So if an author wishes to retract a statement, it disappears. If an administration or a country thinks they are being portrayed in an unfriendly manner, the ofensive material is removed remotely and without question.
You cannot share e-books, you cannot sell your e-textbook, you cannot transfer it to another device, even another Kindle if your breaks, to read it without express permission from the publisher.
Until DRM software can make e-books just like print books, with first sale protection in place, until the e-book I buy is really mine, then Kindle is a bad idea.
I am thinking of the Kindle for another market... younger students (middle/high school). Pediatricians are very concerned about damage caused by heavy backpacks. Lockers are not an option in many schools due to security concerns. Our schools purchase 2 sets of textbooks for each student, one for classroom, one to keep at home. Kindles would no doubt be cheaper.
I think in my community, most parents would buy the kindle themselves if available - heck there's a laptop program beginning at 6th grade. Apple has a program that anyone can afford, maybe $9/month. The district spends an absolute fortune on textbooks. The kids are tech savvy and do not use highlighters and sticky notes like we dinosaurs did.
It's something CA should consider for cost savings.
Let us know what you think of the Kindle as a dedicated textbook reader in the comments, especially if you are currently a college student or instructor.