Maybe an even more stripped version of this e reader is the one to eliminate textbooks

I found this at the German version of Beyond Print (thank goodness for Google translate. It was enough for me to get the gist and link to the info I wanted.) For our German language visitors:

Der „Cool-er“ kommt vor dem Kindle nach Europa | The "Cool-er" comes before the Kindle to Europe |

Bildquelle: www.coolreaders.com Image source: www.coolreaders.com

(19. Mai 2009 – dk) Ende Mai wird ein neuer E-Book Firma Interead in England auf den Markt kommen. (May 19, 2009 - dk) at the end of May, a new e-book reader Interead Company in England on the market. Der „Cool-er“ spricht durch sein Design jüngere Zielgruppen an und weist ein vergleichsweise geringes Gewicht sowie einen geringeren Preis als die derzeitigen E-Book Reader auf.

The link to coolreaders.com.


Do you think a kid would rather have a bunch of heavy textbooks or the stuff in the picture?

Good enough and fast always beats perfect and not so fast.
The point is that by eliminating the wireless connection and the keyboard, the MSP is 259 USD. So I would assume an even more vanilla box version could go for 200USD. And maybe someday 100 USD in bulk purchases.

For college textbooks, the wireless and the IP clearance is critical. For K - 12 wireless is not necessary, keyboards are not necessary, and IP clearance is much less important since the content in textbooks is too old too fast to be useful anyway. If someone includes quizzes for the teachers, this scales, in my not so humble opinion.

The other likely replacement for K -12 textbooks is the e reader that Hearst is working on. Since there is now so much activity in the ereader space, sooner or later one or a combination of them is going to get to market. When that happens, whoever has the print piece ready to go, wins. Again, in my not so humble opinion.