Textbooks are among the top expenses for college students. Today Barnes and Noble launched its app to eliminate at least some of the production costs for textbooks. The company released NOOKstudy, a Web-based e-Textbook application that can bring students a 50 percent savings, according to an announcement today.
“We’re thrilled to roll out our revolutionary NOOKstudy application to provide higher education students with unprecedented freedom to access their eTextbooks and other resources on their PC or Mac anytime and anywhere to make it easy to study smarter," said Tracey Weber, executive vice president of textbooks and digital education.
The computing device allows students to to manage texts, class materials and notes on their computer in the one application. Students have instant access to download texts; they'll save time and money and can more easily organize and categorize their information and research, according to today's press release.
The application is free to download at NOOKstudy.com and will also be available this fall in stores.
“As leaders in the college bookselling arena, we aim to deliver college students the greatest choice, flexibility, savings and value when it comes to their textbook, reading and study needs,” Weber said. “With new, used, rental and digital textbooks, we offer students across the country the ability to choose the formats that are best for them – whether they prefer digital, physical, renting or owning.”
Barnes and Noble isn't the first company to make textbooks available electronically, but it does differentiate itself with NOOKstudy, because it doesn't require a new device like a Kindle. In fact, the program doesn't run on Barnes and Noble's own e-book reader Nook, because it doesn't allow for enough screen space for image-heavy textbooks.
Pilot programs and studies where colleges gave students a Kindle in place of textbooks have for the most part proven unsuccessful. Among the complaints are that the Kindle is another added expense for students, especially when they still have to purchase the e-book.
Barnes and Noble's application can be downloaded on up to six devices, but purchased texts can be available on no more than two.
