[Athen] iPhone app for CourseSmart e-textbooks

[Shelley Haven]

I would have guessed as much.

- Shelley


On Aug 10, 2009, at 2:39 PM, Ron Stewart wrote:


> At this point they are totally inaccessible as well as all the apps  

> to read them.

>

> Ron Stewart

>

> From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org]  

> On Behalf Of Shelley Haven

> Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 1:09 PM

> To: Alternate Media; Access Technology Higher Education Network

> Subject: [Athen] iPhone app for CourseSmart e-textbooks

>

> Hi, all!

>

> Of possible interest: CourseSmart's subscription e-textbook service  

> now has an iPhone app.  While this may not be significant  

> immediately, it could if Apple releases their much-anticipated  

> "media pad" product later this year or in January, as it's expected  

> to use the same operating system as the iPhone and iPod Touch.  So,  

> how accessible are CourseSmart's e-textbooks?

>

> 2 links below, copy of article follows.

>

> - Shelley

>

> _____________________________

> Shelley Haven  ATP, RET

> Assistive Technology Consultant

> www.TechPotential.net

>

>

> Company:

> http://www.coursesmart.com/go/iphone/index.html

> Article:

> http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/10/electronic_textbooks_mobile_check_depositing_come_to_apples_iphone.html

>

> e-texbooks from CourseSmart

>

> CourseSmart, a subscription e-textbook service, released its App  

> Store software last week. The program, entitled "eTextbooks for the  

> iPhone," offers 7,000 different textbooks for college students from  

> 12 different publishers. It is free for subscribers, and the company  

> states that students save an average of 50 percent on books.

>

> In an interview The Wall Street Journal Monday, CourseSmart  

> Executive Vice President Frank Lyman said the application is more of  

> an asset than a textbook replacement.

>

> "Nobody is going to use their iPhone to do their homework, but this  

> does provide real mobile learning," he said. "If you're in a study  

> group and you have a question, you can immediately access your text."

>

> The service, created in 2007, is a collaboration between six higher- 

> education publishers. The subscription model allows students to rent  

> textbooks, typically for 180 days. When the subscription expires,  

> students lose access to their e-texbooks.

>

> Amazon has attempted to break into the digital textbook realm with  

> its larger e-book reader, the Kindle DX. The books available on the  

> iPhone are not on the Kindle. Earlier this year, Amazon released its  

> iPhone-optimized Kindle store, which allowed users to read books on  

> the go. Similarly, the Barnes & Noble eReader also debuted on the  

> platform this year.

>

> As software makers vie for a share of the e-reader market, Sarah  

> Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research, told the Journal  

> that the CourseSmart offering could be a breakthrough for e-textbooks.

>

> "Textbooks are the missing link in the e-reader content base," she  

> said. "The problem so far is that college students haven't really  

> been interested in reading on their laptops. The iPhone will help  

> create excitement and generate awareness of e-textbooks."

>

>

>

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