The Kindle... is it worth it?

By: Ellen Bernhard

These days, carrying around 160 gigs of music and movies on a device smaller than a cell phone is old news. Updating my Facebook status and creating an iTunes playlist while I sit in Wismer with my iPhone has become routine. With technology always changing, it is not surprising that even literature would be on the short list to catch the technology bug.

Every year, students at Ursinus make their semiannual pilgrimage to the campus bookstore, equipped with class schedules and credit cards to invest in their education. The line wraps around the store; students carry stacks of books to the register, holding their breath as the final price tag shows up on the register, delivering a serious blow to many. The last thing students want is to drop several hundred dollars on books, when that money could go toward many other perfectly good uses. Little has been done in changing this routine, but with technology taking over in several other aspects of our lives, it is about time for the well-worn textbooks and anthologies to meet their technological match.

As one of the most popular electronic reading devices on the market, Amazon.com’s Kindle got a makeover last spring when the website released Kindle DX, a more powerful and much larger version than the original, which sold thousands due to its inexpensive bestseller and publication lists and easy usage. With just a few clicks, the user can have access to thousands of books, newspapers, and magazines, all at discounted prices. The DX, with its 9.7” diagonal screen display, is close to four inches larger than its original counterpart, and costs almost twice as much, weighing in at a hefty $489, excluding online book purchases. The product aims to rectify what we as college students deplore the most: expensive prices and bulky textbooks that only return a fraction of the cost at the end of the semester. But the benefits of a paperless classroom are simultaneously met with problems.

With technology clearly an integral part of our lives, it seems like all our free cash goes straight toward some flashy gadget or entertainment device. iTunes has made a fortune from selling expensive iPods and cheap downloads to those who refuse to spend more money on another CD, but love the status that comes from owning a small, sleek, high-powered machine. Amazon.com is using the same platform: people are willing to drop the cash on an expensive device if the products they can buy are sold at reduced costs. At $489, this device is not accessible to everyone, but when you look at the logistics, the device will eventually pay for itself. Amazon.com prides itself on their huge e-book collection with over 350,000 at the ready. Most bestsellers and fiction books are priced at only $9.99, much less than a hardcover new release from Barnes & Noble.

Even textbooks are seeing the same drop in prices. For example, a hardcover geology textbook on Amazon.com priced at $312 sells for $249.60 as the Kindle version. Over several semesters of receiving discounts like that, a student could see a lot more money in his wallet each year. Of course, not all classroom texts are that expensive, but if English majors could purchase an entire semester’s worth of novels and essays online, the returns could become just as great. There is an unfortunate drawback to this, however. Kindle versions cannot be returned for cash at the end of the semester, which means with each new edition, students are forced to pay high prices still.

Aside from the financial benefits of using Kindle textbooks, colleges can also become more active in the fight against global warming. A paperless college is something that many schools aim for, including Ursinus. Most documents are sent via email and many professors stress sending assignments via email or Blackboard to reduce the amount of paper used. There is a massive environmental benefit to doing this: less paper is used, which means that there is less damage done to the planet. According to an article published in a September issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, it is important to realize “how many printed textbooks become obsolete each year when publishers put out new versions.” Think of all the books you’ve returned for cash over the years. Now multiply that by every college student in the United States alone. It’s a massive number.

Just sitting at my computer desk, I’m inundated with technological clutter: music is playing from my portable USB speakers, Panasonic headphones hang from my desk lamp and the newest addition to my technological family, a 1 terabyte external hard drive, hides under cables snaking in every direction. Technology has taken over every other aspect of my life, why should I add one more product to my arsenal of beeping, flashing, devices? What can I say, I’m a literature purist. I adore my paperbacks. I love going home and looking at the stacks of books I’ve collected over the years, from Dr. Seuss to Dr. Zhivago. I’ve come to the realization that the last thing I want to do is stare at another screen. Although I’d like to hang on to my paperback copies forever, I feel the transition is ultimately inevitable. One day, and probably soon, my stacks of books may meet their untimely fate as the Kindle becomes introduced to my technological repertoire.


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