Forget the Kindle; University "requires" iPhone

There goes the need for a Kindle.

Incoming freshmen at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism will be required to have an iPhone or iPod Touch for class lectures and lessons - not Amazon's e-book reader that just announced a deal with textbook publishers. (Techmeme)

Actually, the "requirement" is more of a technicality that was included in course materials so cash-strapped students can include the devices in their financial needs estimate, according to a report on the Columbia Missourian news site. Students who don't have one won't be penalized.

This summer, the entire campus is being outfitted with a program that allows the recording of lectures, which can then be downloaded for free through iTunes University. Brian Brooks, associate dean of the Journalism School, told the newspaper that research has found that a student who hears a lecture a second time tends to retain three times as much of the lecture.

Of course, you don't need an iPhone or an iPod to play back that lecture. iTunes works on both a Mac or a PC. Said Brooks:

There’s a lot of theory out there that says what you want to do is engage students in realms where they are already comfortable, and we know a lot of students are already familiar with iPods and iTunes so we want to get into that space and take advantage of that.

Last week, Amazon made a big splash with the announcement of the larger Kindle DX, a $489 electronic reader, and partnerships with textbook publishers to offer digital copies of textbooks for the Kindle. A Kindle app for the iPhone/iPod Touch is also available.

Also see: Amazon Kindle's $489 price tag makes iPod Touch a better buy