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Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals

By | July 18, 2011, 8:30am PDT

Summary: Amazon launched Kindle textbook rentals for the 2011 school year in a move that aims to dent college bookstores as well as hefty book prices.

Amazon on Monday launched Kindle textbook rentals for the 2011 school year in a move that aims to dent college bookstores as well as hefty book prices.

In a statement, Amazon said that it will offer textbooks from John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. Under the program, students will rent Kindle textbooks and pay with for the time they’re using the books.

The custom rental periods—between 30 days and 360 days—is likely to come in handy to students.

For Amazon, the benefits are clear. For starters, Amazon can get students on the Kindle platform early. In addition, Amazon’s Kindle apps can reach multiple devices—including those Apple iPads all over campus.

Strategically, Amazon’s textbook move is going to be a shot at Barnes & Noble, which operates campus bookstores. Barnes & Noble also allows for e-textbooks via its NookStudy application as well as offers physical textbook rentals.

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Topics

Amazon.com Inc., Textbook Rental, E-books & E-Readers, Benefits And Compensation, Personal Technology, Human Resources, Larry Dignan, back to school

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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hoping for the best
romnickhudges Updated - 21st Mar
Although, I appreciate the move made by Amazon but I'm still looking for possible answer for a couple of questions I have in mind. Is this launched a success? also, how affordable is this textbook rental? I do love this post but I'm also searching for some follow ups. Thanks.


______________________________
Would you consider renting textbooks or buy textbooks ?
http://www.bookgator.com
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
ecruzaz 18th Jul
As a professor who wonders about the high costs that my students pay for textbooks, this seems like a reasonable approach by Amazon. Hopefully they will get other textbook manufacturers to join their ranks.
cruz
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
linasmith 23rd Aug
@ecruzaz Yes its great that if you professor and you fell very deeply in your student situation and give you good idea thanks for that. book report writing | Admission essay writing | thesis writing
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
molly83 3rd Oct
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
stevie_llahma@... 18th Jul
I can see another use for this also. I've been wanting to brush up on my accounting, but I've been putting it off because of the price of the textbooks. With a rental you would have an opportunity to peruse the whole book before making a decision to buy, as opposed to trying to evaluate the book based on a downloadable "sample". This should also increase the number of textbooks available in Kindle format. I'm stoked :o)
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
jimidee 18th Jul
The issues I see--as a Kindle user for scientific books and journals--is that Kindle is a lousy platform for trying to read dense content with images, tables and charts because: (1) you don't have fine motor control over the placement of the page in the Kindle viewer, and (2) you don't have fine control over the resizing in order to be able to zoom to read dense content. In other words, it is damn clumsy, to almost make it unusable for reading of most academic content. Don't know how they have improved this for textbooks--particularly since they don't support color or integration with alternate forms of web-based content. So, unless they are radially upgrading the platform, it will likely be a non-starter.
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
ADboy 18th Jul
@jimidee - Could you not read the books on your PC with the Kindle App? In full color? Perhaps
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
drand54@... 19th Jul
@ADboy

Hey ADboy! I've been using a Java text book right now on my 3rd gen Kindle, when it's time to review a graph or table you select the object and it zooms in and Idon't have any issues with it. Also when ever I want I use the Kindle App on my PC to easily review graphs and tables. BTW, the new Kindle is said to be in production and will probably address some of your issues. But overall the choice of being able to rent text books via a e-reader will save students and butt load of ca$h!!!!
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RE: Amazon launches Kindle textbook rentals
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Beneath the agenda, undergraduate will rent encourage text and pay with for the time they???re by means of the books.

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its really very useful informative post thanks for sharing this with us.

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With any luck
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hoping for the best
romnickhudges Updated - 21st Mar
Although, I appreciate the move made by Amazon but I'm still looking for possible answer for a couple of questions I have in mind. Is this launched a success? also, how affordable is this textbook rental? I do love this post but I'm also searching for some follow ups. Thanks.


______________________________
Would you consider renting textbooks or buy textbooks ?
http://www.bookgator.com

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