Textbooks have always been synonymous with college, but that could change with the coming schoolyear. The student-textbook relationship may be rapidly approaching its day of reckoning, as high-tech gadgets that emulate and enhance the textbook experience hit the market.

The competition

The Amazon Kindle and the forthcoming gadget from Apple could be the first devices to make a considerable dent in the textbook market.

The Kindle has the advantage of being on the market since 2007 and offers a proven system for getting data transmitted seamlessly, and exclusively, through Amazon.com. The price recently became more friendly, but $299 is still a big upfront cost to students only using it for textbooks. Its six-inch display is geared toward simple text, fiction and non-fiction; the screen on the Kindle DX is better suited for the more graphics-heavy presentations typically found in textbooks, but you'll fork over $489 for it.

The idea of Kindles for classrooms is catching on; this year Princeton is testing a pilot program in which students receive a Kindle DX with class-related material pre-loaded.

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As with mp3 players earlier this decade, Apple would not be the first to bring an e-book reader into the market, but looks to improve on earlier models for a greater piece of the action. A competitive price point and expanded function are the main reasons that the fussed-over, probably-approaching, still-a-rumor Apple Tablet device sounds so appealing. Students may be more willing to front the cash if it can be used for fun activities beyond the classroom and library.

The digital device's secrets to success

Other than the obvious "cool" factor of having these transformative gadgets, there are legitimate claims that they'll be helpful on campus.

The Kindle weighs about ten ounces, eliminating the need for students to haul heavy textbooks, some of which push five pounds. Multiply that by the number of classes you're taking, and it's obvious the Kindle can take a tremendous load off your back -- literally.

Despite the cost of the hardware, the price tags of e-books offer considerable cost savings over their print counterparts. With new textbooks starting around $120 and Kindle versions priced between $9.99 and around $50, over time, a student could make up the initial investment cost. E-books also eliminate much of the hassle of obtaining textbooks (i.e., Will they be available at the bookstore? Will Amazon/eBay ship them in a timely fashion?), since e-book acquisition is close to instantaneous.

The Apple Tablet -- assuming it's going to have the types of features we've come to expect from Apple -- would mean much more to a student than just textbook and classroom application. The tablet potentially could be used as an all-in-one device outside of the classroom -- storing media files, accessing the Web, using a USB keyboard plugin for typing papers. New and advanced features are what will make the tablet appealing to students, though the textbook application is what they will pitch to their parents.

Not as flashy, but age tested

The deck isn't completely stacked against textbooks; they still hold "old school" advantages that haven't yet been matched by their digital counterparts. The first thing that comes to mind is the way that often highly personalized note taking cannot translate in the high-tech gadgets. While surely there are people at work on creative, digital ways to solve this, if you're looking to write in the margins, you can't beat the printed version.

Textbooks have limited value outside the classroom and on the resale market. That may be disheartening when it's time to turn in your books for credit at the end of the semester, but the risk of theft is very, very low. The Kindle and the new Apple device are going to be the hottest items around for those lurking in the shadows of campus with sticky fingers this year.

And for those of us who simply cannot live without the smell of a new textbook's cocktail of ink and paper -- stick with the printed version.

Until now, students haven't been offered a practical alternative to textbooks, so it's hard to predict response to this new choice. We're at least few years away from a digital consensus, which is evident by publishers' fresh efforts to offer textbook rentals starting this coming semester. With learning styles as diverse on campus as the student body, textbooks, however diminished, won't be fully eradicated from campus life just yet.

The new, digital learning tools may prove to be great, but one can already imagine a recurring nightmare involving this new technology: you have four or five consecutive classes (or are attempting to pull an all-nighter) and you forget to bring your charger. You find yourself with a blank screen, no textbook, and a pretty lame excuse.



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