iPad and Textbooks: Let's go Paperless, finally.

I believe that the iPad will revolutionize textbooks and end up redefining this generation of technology. 


Why? 


Because this is an area ripe for innovation.


College students spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks every semester — textbooks that are heavy, that are sometimes out of date as soon as they are published, and that don’t fit well with the existing digital lifestyle of today’s students. 


Even without subsidizing the initial device price, I know that students would flock to using a tablet computer if they could get all of their textbooks, have the ability to make notations, get online updates and see supplementary information all in a device that weighs under a pound and can fit easily in a backpack.


The convenience factor alone makes it a killer device. Whoever is able to get textbook publishers and universities on-board en masse first will ultimately win the e-book market.


The great thing about tablet computers is that they aren’t just e-book readers. They can offer additional content experiences as well. 


I am not a college student, but I do teach college and middle school classes. I know that for myself, this technology is exciting. The possibilities seem limitless. 


The time might have finally arrived to leave dust collect paper books behind.