This article at Daniweb is well worth the read. Writer, Ron Miller sets out the logical premise that post secondary institutions like colleges and universities should be the perfect proving ground for the eBook Reader or eReading Devices because of the high cost of text books, their frequent need of updates and the tech-saavy nature of their users. It should be the perfect marriage.
However, the story goes on to explain that in a pilot program at Princeton, volunteers were unhappy with the Kindle DX’s functionality. It seems the hardware is in need development. This fact should stir the pot, since this logical niche would represent a sizable fortune in business for the device developer that can provide the machine of choice. The article mentions a few of the functions that the students do want: among them a larger textbook sized screen and more flexible tools for note-taking.
The encouraging thing was that they preferred using an eBook Reader over reading from a laptop or netbook. So, while there is room for improvement, the exercise couldn’t be considered a failure. The demand is there, the developers just need to supply the right product.
