Episode 11 - iPhone: eTextbooks [Discussion]

[marilee]

Annie Gaus reviews eTextbooks for the iPhone, an app that lets you access digital versions of college textbooks--at a big discount.

Watch or download this episode now!

[markhawk]

Not bad but this really annoying DMDM advertisement is getting in the way of specs posted. It blocks out way to much important information, no way to close it, and is bright white. There is no way to ignore it. I end up pausing the video till it disappears.

Personally I wish I had this or a Kindle when I attended the Art institute. Having possibly every book I'd need for class on me at any point in time would of been a big stress relief.

[juicymoose]

Something I noticed while the app was being shown and that is there is a subscription time attached to the download. I would guess that means you only get to keep the book on your iphone for that duration of time. The book in the app review had a 180 day subscription.

I would say that is a pretty big downside to this app. Should have called the app Rent-a-Book.

Due to the time restriction for keeping the book I would give a "thumbs down"

[masterevilace]

Sidenote: Annie is a beautiful woman

[xfuuey]

Originally Posted by masterevilace

Sidenote: Annie is a beautiful woman

Yup. It sure doesn't hurt the show to have her reviewing apps
Anyway, good episode..

[masherscf]

Originally Posted by juicymoose

Due to the time restriction for keeping the book I would give a "thumbs down"

Why? Most people don't collect their textbooks. If you think you want a textbooks for a life-time reference, you can buy a hard-copy of the text separately. After 12-years of post high school education, my closets are filled with old texts that I never look at.

As a college professor, I would have no problem recommending a semester subscription to an electronic version over a full purchase text. The only drawback I see is that I would require off-line access to the text and access from a notebook computer.

Something else, textbooks are free to faculty. If I want a text, any text, I just need to call the publisher and their mail it to me. Indeed, most publishers have PDF version of their text available online that I can also access for free. So, etextbooks is not such a great deal for me.

[jacquesmonkey]

Originally Posted by juicymoose

I would say that is a pretty big downside to this app. Should have called the app Rent-a-Book.

Due to the time restriction for keeping the book I would give a "thumbs down"

I think another downside would be the resale value. You can't resell an ebook! I think the price would have to go down much further before I consider buying an ebook. I mean, the publisher saves on printing cost so why do they still cost so much? Marketing?

I do admit they are convenient and "compact."

[teechur]

Originally Posted by juicymoose

Something I noticed while the app was being shown and that is there is a subscription time attached to the download. I would guess that means you only get to keep the book on your iphone for that duration of time. The book in the app review had a 180 day subscription.

I would say that is a pretty big downside to this app. Should have called the app Rent-a-Book.

Due to the time restriction for keeping the book I would give a "thumbs down"

Yes, there is a time limit. I looked into this for my students (high school) and decided that wouldn't work for me, but it's really not a bad idea at all.

I think most college students sell back books anyhow, and if you really want to keep the book you could get a paper copy of the books you want to keep. I know I bought probably over 100 books in college, paid and arm and a leg and got back a toe when I sold them back.

It isn't really fair, though, for the reviewer to say that textbooks are a ripoff. Yes, they are a business, but a lot goes into the average text and teachers (generally) don't adopt them lightly. (Plus it really is a juvenile argument, similar to what I hear from high school students when they don't understand all sides of a topic and decide that with their limited knowledge, they know enough to label something as "bad" "stupid" a "ripoff" or "lame".)

[llcooljcl]

Awesome episode! More Annie, please.


A few questions:

1. Annie, where'd you get your shirt? CUTE!

2. Are there any institutions out there that are embracing this idea and including it with other services into a whole host of campus/school-related offerings -- both online and for the phone? Class schedules, discussions, BlackBoard, etc. MobilEdu comes to mind, but honestly I don't know too much about them. (Maybe another review!)

3. Annie, where'd you get your backpack? CUTE!

[whiskers]

[quote=llcooljcl;547137]Awesome episode! More Annie, please.



I concur!