[citation][nom]kianteck[/nom]On the long run, i guess the rental is still cheaper than purchasing text books no?[/citation]
Only if they throw the books away every year. What about history books - oh wait, with the way history is being rewritten, those are probably discarded often too.[citation][nom]inthere[/nom]ANYONE in the technology field with an ounce of sense would have recommended the iPad over any other tablet or ebook reader. A. ITunes has the largest documentary and audio book collection by far. It also has the largest legal movie collection. B.The iPad is superior to any eBook reader because of its internet and multimedia capabilities. iBooks has a huge book catalog plus Kindle is an iPad app that gives you access to their entire catalog. IPad has calculator apps, and you can also take notes on your iPad in class. C. No competing tablets are established as stable yet (Android OS not ready for tablets yet, Windows 7 too young). D. With iPad, you're sure everyone is on the same hardware, will download the same books, same apps, and same films. Everyone being on the same hardware is crucial in a school environment. With that in mind, no other tablet has established itself as a permanent product; you don't know if the product is here to stay for awhile or not. Google discontinuing the Nexus One did no favors for the Android OS.[/citation]
A) Relevant to school how? They provide the eBooks and other content, and even determine what content they can or can't access.
B) e-ink solutions are FAR SUPERIOR to any LCD. Period. I can read on a good e-ink device all day long and it is even easier on the eyes than a real book in some cases. Furthermore it wouldn't have to be charged as often as they get much better battery life.
C) You're an Apple shill, we know.
D) There are reader apps for other OS, and you could choose a small selection of devices (or even a specific device such as a particular model of Android tablet) and preinstall reader software on them. Apple will eventually discontinue the iPad and replace it with the iPad 2. What's your point? There are always newer models coming out, as long as they can run the software who gives a flying frag grenade.