The Bottom Line

Issue date: 5/13/09 Section: News

In 2005, a Government Accountability Office report estimated that textbooks cost the average university student about $900 per year. These textbooks are often bulky and quite heavy; a literal burden on students' backs. Amazon.com has released a new version of Kindle, an electronic paper display which seeks to replace the traditional textbook for students.


The new Kindle DX is the third iteration of Amazon's Kindle family. The original Kindle was released in 2007. The device uses an E-Ink screen, which mimics ink on paper and is lit only by ambient light in order to reduce eyestrain. In person, the screen reads like a printed book, with sharply defined text and graphics in gray scale.


The DX model features a much larger screen than previous models, just shy of 10 inches; Amazon says that this allows whole pages to be viewed as one. The device can hold approximately 3,500 books simultaneously, and allows users to bookmark pages and highlight text. The device, as more and more textbooks become available in the Kindle format, promises to replace what may now be 30 or more pounds of books.


Books, PDF documents, magazines, newspapers, and more can all be uploaded to the Kindle via the built in 3g internet connection, which has no contract nor cost to use. Any book can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds. The device can also access Wikipedia with that connection. While using the wireless connection, battery life is said to be four days continuous reading time. If the wireless connection is switched off, continuous reading time is advertised as up to two weeks.


Three textbook publishers that collectively publish 60% of the country's textbooks recently agreed to publish Kindle versions of their books. At least six universities will be running Kindle pilot programs, wherein a number of students will be provided with the devices to see how students react to the devices.


As blogs and online news sources have begun to replace newspapers, television, and radios as primary news sources for some, the Kindle may someday become a common sight. The device offers two notable benefits over a traditional textbook:


Kindle DX weighs just over one pound, and is about a third of an inch thick; compared to even one textbook the weight and space savings are enormous, let alone several classes worth.


Initial cost is not cheap, Amazon is charging $495 for preorders to ship in the summer, but book prices are said to be less expensive than printed books. New release novels for the Kindle often sell for about $10, about a third of the cost of a hardcover edition. Some schools in the pilot programs are planning on subsidizing the initial cost of the device.


Although it's unlikely that devices such as the Kindle DX will replace printed books anytime soon, it may be common at some point in the next few years to look around a classroom and see at least a few students looking at a white electronic tablet, instead of a five-pound, two-inch thick textbook.

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