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August 13, 2009, 01:00 PM ET
iPhone Textbook Apps Just Keep Coming
It may not be great as a phone--don't scream, Apple fans, but the iPhone has taken some knocks on call quality and battery life, though the latest version has improved--but the iPhone is getting more and more fans as a college-textbook reader.
CourseSmart, an e-textbook supplier, has come out with a reader app that draws on a library of 7,000 college texts from a dozen publishers, including McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Pearson, and Elsevier. The app is free, and the e-books seem to be cheaper than hardcovers. The idea of looking at a diagram of a molecule on a small screen might be off-putting, but the app does have a decent zoom and scroll feature that makes such things easier. You still can't make notes in the margins, though.
For algebra students who need extra help, Pearson Higher Education has rolled out its AlgebraPrep app, with tutorials and mini-tests you can take at the student union while waiting for class to begin. The first tutorial, on factoring, will set students back $2.99 at the iTunes store. Pearson promises future modules on quadratic equations, rationals, and several other topics.
Students can even use the iPhone to buy paper textbooks online. Bigwords, a book-shopping Web site, now offers its own app that does price comparisons of particular books from various online sellers. It will calculate shipping costs and discount offers, too.
Finally, and this online development has nothing to do with an iPhone, those who don't want to buy can rent. Cengage Learning, a large publisher, announced today it will start CengageBrain in December. That Web site will offer students the option of renting books--in either electronic or paper form--and returning them after 60, 90, or 130 days. The company claims the price will be 40 to 70 percent lower than the retail buying option. It's not the only one pursuing this route. The New York Times reports that McGraw-Hill will be offering some books for rental through Chegg, an online textbook-rental Web site. And Barnes & Noble is beginning a pilot rental program at three of its college bookstores this fall.
It will be interesting to see what royalties the professor-authors of these books realize through these various new distribution channels.
Comments
1. jmittell - August 13, 2009 at 08:09 pm
"It will be interesting to see what royalties the professor-authors of these books realize through these various new distribution channels." Why do you assume that there will be royalties? Rentals don't pay royalties, except for the first sale...
2. dwlewis - August 14, 2009 at 08:41 am
The textbook as we have know it is dying. There will many attempts by the established corporate publishers to find new models that will preserving their margins. But in the end, as has happened in all industries touhed by digital technology (think banks, travel agents, and car sales), the economic models will change and only those that add real value will be rewarded. Prices will be pushed lower; options will expand, and the consumer (we and our students) will benefit. The question for us is do we simply watch and wait, or do we actively participate in changing the way textbooks and other educational resources are developed and distributed.
3. uconndirk - August 15, 2009 at 08:54 am
It is obvious that distribution of course materials is changing. As a campus bookstore professional, we've seen it coming for years, but it really seems to be evolving now. My question to the community is what if any will the role of the campus bookstore be in the future? Will we be relevant anymore or go the way of the video/music store?
Honestly, with our current models, surviving on selling only convenience items, imprinted clothing and gifts, supplies, general books and school supplies will not happen in the long run at most locations. What then? When prospective students or alumni visit college campuses/prepatory schools a visit to the bookstore is usually part of the mix, maybe to pick up a tee shirt with your school's logo on it or browse the faculty author books. This may not be the case in the future.
One last thought is who will collect all the information on the course materials that faculty assign for their classes? This at best has always been a challenging process as many faculty aren't hired (such as the trend of adjuncts) until the last moment and many others don't give their orders now to campus bookstores until just before the semester commences, and that can be after multiple inquiries and attempts to collet the information in a proactive manner. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
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