Textbooks on the Kindle
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 by Kelly Sutton The initial textbook rush for schools on the semester system is over (and it hasn't even begun for quarter system schools). I spent $100 on textbooks. Both of the books I had to buy were workbooks that could not be checked out from the library. I figured I saved myself $500 by referring to our how to get free textbooks post.
But it turns out there might be a new way to get cheap textbooks. Or at least there's some chatter about the subject. Everyone is wondering: will the Amazon Kindle replace traditional textbooks?
The State of the Textbook
Currently, publishers are exhibiting one last cry as they are dragged screaming into digital form. Your average person been reading text online and printing it out for 13-14 years by now. What took so long?
Some publishers are turning to digital solutions. Last semester, I covered my first run in with the so-called "digital workbooks." Digital workbooks are workbooks that can only be accessed online, through a site like Quia. Usually, they won't allow you to print them out. I first encountered them in my German class and assume that they are more popular among language courses.
Today, publishers are now frantically boarding the U.S.S. Digital Cash Cow. They have all realized that if they keep their books online, they win. Contemporary textbook publishers despise free markets. With DRM and online-only content, they can regulate their own market. I agree with them! It takes a lot of energy to manufacture each one of those bits!
Will the Kindle Help?
The Amazon Kindle is an eBook reader recently released by Amazon, priced at $350. Analysts speculate that its high price point will be the product's demise. Once someone buys a Kindle, she can purchase books for download for about $10 a piece depending on the publisher, book and current weather conditions in Greenwich, England.
Currently, there are a few textbooks offered on the Kindle. These books don't seem to be any cheaper than their 40-pound physical counterparts. A paperback copy of Real-Time Concepts for Embedded Systems sets you back $39.94, while the Kindle version is $35.95. Moreover, most textbooks are not even offered on the Kindle like the my German books, the Kontake series. (Kontake does have their workbooks online.)
The Kindle has a long way to go before it can be considered a suitable textbook replacement device. If the Kindle paid itself back, it would make sense to buy one. If a student buys one today, they are simply paying a $350 premium for their books.
Open to a Solution
Wouldn't it be nice if books were open-source? But books can never be open source!, publishers say.
Books--in the grand scheme of things--are simple tools. They organize information in a logical manner for reference and learning. If you are a regular HackCollege reader, chances are you are using an open-source browser (Firefox). It is a dumb comparison, but software is much more complex than a book could ever be. Books don't have much logic. Books don't break. Books don't expose security holes threatening half the world that have to be patched overnight. Books are simple.
Why can't selfish book authors collaborate to produce a few decent open books?
What do you think is the future of textbooks? Do you have any horror stories of trying to buy textbooks this semester?
Recommended Further Reading
- MIT OpenCourseWare About Page
- Amazon Kindle Best Textbook Replacement? [Self Publishing Blog]
- Textbooks, Kindle, the Apple Tablet, PDF & RIA's [Connecting the Dots]
- Digital Textbooks - The Latest Scam [HackCollege]
Reader Comments (7)
I had heard about this for a while now. I like the concept, too bad I already graduated, but I would have saved thousands! Saving every now and then is good, especially in the long run. I actually know of some cool freebie ringtones on the Motorola site. Just check out the http://www.motorola.com/E8" rel="nofollow">The Hotel Cafe section of the site and you can download all six of the ringtones for free.
I spent $600 this semester!
Wait, wait, wait...you mean like wikibooks?
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page
It's not a matter of the material not being there...it's more likely a matter of teachers being suborn doubting the legitimacy of the material and refusing to use it.
If the professors that scoff contributed and fixed the aspects of the books they didn't like, we might have a solution here...
I hope they do get these digital books, these textbooks prices are really lame. Why such a high price on success. Anyway I use this site I found through face book http://www.helpineedbooks.com it searches all the stores for you at once, I saved like 185$. But i think the total prices of books should be under 100$ no reason why they should cost this much.
I agree with you Samantha. Text books, (even used) are too expensive.
Man. I am just about to go to Chemeketa Community College in January. Actually, I start January 5th. It's about $8400 dollars for a full 2 years. Not too bad I guess. But I will definitely be back to this site for more.
I liked your last post a lot. The one that teaches people how to get cash from their parents. You guys have a great blog. Keep it up!