Say what you will about the iPad ("Ugh, I can't video Skype on it!"), or about e-books in general ("Overpriced hooey!"), but, readers, please calm your vitriol for a moment. The real advantage of this hand-held tech is not the fact that you can download your latest Patricia Cornwall novel wirelessly, nor that you can
smite some sows with bitchin' birds in full HD. Portable devices like these are, truly, best suited for students.
We know this sentiment has been bandied about since the launch of the first Kindle, and especially so since the iPad debuted. But Barnes and Noble, that Starbucks of the bookseller trade, is now experimenting with
a learning tool called NOOKstudy, a piece of software for both Mac and PC (not e-readers or iPad, just yet) that will organize all of your class texts into a single location. According to the company's website, "NOOKstudy keeps your eTextbooks, class handouts, course syllabi, lecture notes, even your leisure reading, instantly accessible right on your computer." For software owners, Barnes and Noble is making available 500,000 free e-books, as well as the rest of its paid Nook content.
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