Kno Eschewing Hardware to Focus on Apps?

The dual-screen Kno seemed like the perfect e-textbook reader, but the $900 price tag seemed way too high for a single-use device.

Last month, we had a special opportunity to sit down with the people behind the Kno tablet at CES, and came away with mixed feelings.  The Kno tablet does indeed seem to be the best way to read an e-textbook, and the company has a lot of publisher deals already in place, but I can't imagine many students shelling out $600 or more for what amounts to a single-use device.

It seems Kno, Inc. may have the same reservations, and All Things Digital is reporting that they're looking to sell off the hardware side of their business, and focus on bringing the Kno experience to the iPad and Android tablets in the form of apps.  If this comes to pass, it will ultimately be for the best. Kno has the potential to turn the tide in the fight to digitize our textbooks, and getting their software on mainstream tablets is really the only way that a lot of students will get to use the service.  None of the tablets I've seen can match the 14" screen size or pixel-perfect handwriting capabilities, but I'll trade that for better e-textbook selection any day. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. 

What do you think? Would you be more likely to consider using the Kno as an app than as a full-fledged tablet?