Amazon's Kindle DX Not Doing So Hot At University
Amazon's Kindle DX has managed to nearly vanish from the spotlight after being ceremoniously introduced at Pace University in New York last year, but Amazon never really intended for the DX to make a huge stand in the consumer market place. Rather, the DX was meant to overtake the textbook in the education sector, and possibly even the newspaper/magazine sectors. So far as the industry can tell, none of those takeovers really happened, and while some universities gave the DX a chance, feedback from students seems to indicate that it didn't exactly pass with flying colors.
The 10" e-reader has plenty of space for text, but the most major problem is the inability to display color charts and graphics at all, not to mention the slow page refresh (compared to quickly flipping to various pages in a real book). Students found it difficult or impossible to adjust, with most of the feedback from Virginia University and University of Washington students being negative. In fact, one student in particular was elated to hear that one of the classes she elected wasn't equipped to be taken with an e-reader, so another heavy textbook was added to her arsenal.
By and large, the students enjoyed using the DX for casual reading, but it wasn't so great for getting real work done. Some students at Princeton University and Portland-based Reed College praised the long battery life and "green" factor from saving paper, but when it came time to get busy with classes, the majority preferred old fashioned books. Amazon's still got a huge opportunity in the education sector, but it seems that breaking through in colleges will be more difficult than originally assumed.
The 10" e-reader has plenty of space for text, but the most major problem is the inability to display color charts and graphics at all, not to mention the slow page refresh (compared to quickly flipping to various pages in a real book). Students found it difficult or impossible to adjust, with most of the feedback from Virginia University and University of Washington students being negative. In fact, one student in particular was elated to hear that one of the classes she elected wasn't equipped to be taken with an e-reader, so another heavy textbook was added to her arsenal.
By and large, the students enjoyed using the DX for casual reading, but it wasn't so great for getting real work done. Some students at Princeton University and Portland-based Reed College praised the long battery life and "green" factor from saving paper, but when it came time to get busy with classes, the majority preferred old fashioned books. Amazon's still got a huge opportunity in the education sector, but it seems that breaking through in colleges will be more difficult than originally assumed.
