Amazon Kindle: Any Use for It @ Bschool?

Question

Amazon’s New Kindle Is Faster, Smarter, Thinner

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/techn ... ml?_r=1&hp

So Amazon released info for the 2nd generation Kindle. I was wondering, does this gadget have any use for bschool students like us?

falibay · Answer

I don't know if it is will useful, I would love to get a Kindle. I guess it depends on how many Textbook/Business books are available.

Skitalets · Answer

More and more textbooks are becoming available in ebook formats, Kindle included, but my guess is you'll still have to cart around some very heavy textbooks as not all will be available for Kindle during our time at b-school. I'd really love to have one, but I think I'll be waiting until Christmas (Amazon is massively ramping up production, could mean production flaws) and renting textbooks from one of the several websites that do that.

bsd_lover · Answer

I have an Iliad e-book reader (https://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/irex ... -reviewed/). This is similar to Kindle (Iliad is more feature rich). But the problem is finding content for it. Not all if any of the main books will be available in ebook format. If they were, a device like this would be a god-send (I can actually take notes on the Iliad)...

The other problems with the device is that it only supports greyscale (and no colour). This is a limitation of the e-ink stuff they use for the screen. This would be a real drawback while reading graphs / pie charts and other businessey things we'd look at.

Finally the screen size is not upto scratch either. Some books are meant to have larger pages you are supposed to read text in conjunction with images (all on one page). But that is often not possible.

falibay · Answer

I don't think you can do without real books, especially for textbook. But for paperback business book that would be great.If the kindle was a bit cheaper, it would be great.

Skitalets · Answer

Why is a textbook any different from a paperback business book? The Kindle lets you annotate, highlight, save notes on the Amazon servers, etc.

I am thinking pretty seriously about getting a used Kindle 1 right now. Being able to read the WSJ on it rather than cart around a paper is a big enough feature alone to entice me (esp. since the subscription is way cheaper than the normal yearly rate). Still dunno whether I will pick up textbooks on it -- if they're significantly cheaper, I might, otherwise I'll just rent or buy and sell back.

nink · Answer

I've been an owner of Kindle for about a year now.

It's a fantastic little companion to take during my travels all over the country to read newspaper (NYTimes.com, WSJ etc), magazines (Fortune), and other best sellers.

I also use the free Amazon.com service to convert documents to Kindle format so whenever I need to read a long work related documents etc, I send that to Amazon and get it wirelessly delivered to Kindle.

However, I think it's not a good use for textbooks. It has its limitation when it comes to displaying rich image etc and its really difficult to highlight a passage due to Kindle's limitations. If future kindle has a stylus or something for navigation, it will be better.

Skitalets · Answer

The Kindle 2 apparently has a cursor much like a word processor, so you can select items in a more granular way instead of just by line. I am not ponying up for a Kindle 2 just yet, though. :-)

TimeSquareDesi · Answer

the initial cost of the kindle + the  marginal  discount on ebooks via amazon.com pushes me away from the kindle.....

It's a great device but if book publishers cite "publication costs" as the reason math books are $200+, then the discount on them should be much steeper when available in ebook format... but this is not the case....

so, yeah, im sticking to lugging around books.

bipolarbear · Answer

Refurb 1st generation kindles are now only $199 on amazon.com
I would get a kindle dx since it has a bigger screen and targets the textbook/college market.
However, I'm not getting one until they make the economist available on the kindle. Until then I'll still with the dead tree edition of everything.

pmk157 · Answer

Darden is runnning a pilot program to test out the DX this year in their MBA and EMBA programs (https://www.darden.virginia.edu/html/new ... x?id=19238). While I haven't used any version of the Kindle, not having to lug around text books all day would definitely be of interest to me.

3underscore · Answer

I am not so sure - I am not a fan of electronic note taking anyway (or writing in books, you vandals). they look like a fun toy, and maybe as a reference tool. Not as a primary text though - too restrictive.

marymary · Answer

I have ordered the latest Kindle but for personal use only - the problem with purchasing ebooks is that you can't sell them when you're done. the Kindle version of a textbook is always going to be more expensive than a used copy of the book, and you at least have a chance of recouping the cost of the used book by selling it, you have zero chance with an ebook. Also, and this depends on the class, but Kindles don't note the corresponding hard copy page number so using it in class and having the prof refer to a page in the book may cause some issues.

Dawgie · Answer

I have a Kindle DX, my only complaint is I can't write on my kindle without messing it up

Also, the page navigation is slow.

shaselai · Answer

does kindle hurt the eyes or it is not bad? i am thinking of getting my mom one.

Dawgie · Answer

I think for leisurely reading it is fine. Would be a great gift for your mom! Have you considered iPad?

shaselai · Answer

thats too dear.

MourinhoisGod · Answer

You can always crack the DRM to re-sell, although I would not advise in one way or another.

Sailorette · Answer

Do it- she'll love a Kindle! We just bought my mother-in-law and my grandfather the new Kindles for the birthdays, and both LOVE them. Especially my grandfather, as it allows him to get the newest releases for cheaper without having to leave his house, and he can adjust the text size larger without losing face and purchasing a large text book. And at age 83 he has had no problems learning how to use it! Regarding the iPad suggestion- I don't think you can really compare the iPad as an option for a reading device. For short-term it's just fine, but studies (and personal experience) have shown that reading for extended periods on a backlit screen is really hard on your eyes. Especially for older users, the e-ink system is the way to go. To touch on the original premise of this thread- my DH is in a master's program through Harvard's extension school, and has been able to email himself many of the case studies and PDF documents to read via Kindle instead of printing them out. If text books were more widely available on the device we would absolutely take advantage of it, as it cost over U.S. $300 to ship this semester's textbooks to Taiwan! :shock:

shadow · Answer

dont see a huge use for it unless you love reading in your spare time (although as you'll quickly find out, spare time is hard to come by in b-school). the main use would be to put cases on it so you could read them instead of reading them on your computer or printing them out. other than that, i doubt a lot of the textbooks are available in e-book format.

Amazon Kindle: Any Use for It @ Bschool?

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