The Amazon Kindle reader - originally launched in November of 2007 - really didn't make too much impact on the academic community. The new updated Kindle 2 - which commenced shipping in February of 2009 - didn't really change matters very much - at least not from an educationalist's perspective.
The relatively high purchase price of the reader may be a bit steep for many students, but that's probably an issue which could be worked around. The trouble is that the 6" screen on both the original Kindle and the Kindle 2 - whilst perfectly adequate for reading normal books - is just too small for academic textbooks, many of which contain diagrams and illustrations.
However, with the launch of the Kindle DX on June 10 2009, things may change - and rapidly. The new DX benefits from a considerably larger screen, 9.7" measured across the diagonal. It also has an accelerometer fitted which allows users to change from portrait to landscape automatically when the device is rotated. Amazon is promoting the DX as the perfect solution for readers of magazines, newspapers and academic textbooks.
Amazon has already announced partnerships with a number of colleges and universities, including Princeton, Case Western, Arizona State and the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. These institutions may offer discounted Kindle readers to some of their students and it does seem like an excellent method for Amazon to enter the embryonic market for higher education digital books.
According to the National Association of College Stores, college book sales for the year 2007-08 amounted to $5.4 billion. It's a very large and important market, which would be attractive for Amazon, who would hope to secure a good share of these sales, and also for the educational establishments, who might expect to save significant amounts of money and to have a more efficient method of keeping academic textbooks current.
As an example of the types of savings that could be made, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, recently confirmed that his state would start providing digital text books in the Fall of 2009. For a school district with around 10,000 high school students, a yearly saving of $2 million is forecast. It's possible that savings may vary for tertiary education, - but they are definitely there for the taking. Savings achieved in this manner would hopefully result in money being made available for use in other areas.
With potential profits for ebook reader suppliers, and savings for educational bodies, it seems likely that there will be some hot competition in this important market sector in the very near future. Right now, Amazon do look to be in a dominant position, but Plastic Logic, News Corp. and Hearst are all thought to be lining up large format ebook readers for release in 2010. Apple has also stated that they will be releasing a tablet type notebook, perfect for reading ebooks, sometime next year.
Over and above the profits for Amazon and its competitors, and the potential savings for the various educational bodies, it is to be hoped that individual students will benefit as a result of the investment of funds that would otherwise be spent elsewhere. The availability of cheaper, more frequently updated textbooks should also be a plus and, in future, it seems possible that different, more interactive, learning possibilities may be developed .
Hamish Hayward
Kindle Reader
Learn more about Amazon's amazing Kindle reader - including how to get free e-books direct from the Amazon website.
