In a move that aims to dent college bookstores as well as hefty book prices, Amazon has jumped into the lucrative college textbook market with Kindle Textbook Rental for the 2011 school year.
Amazon claims the bookstore will help students save as much as 80 per cent by renting from the Kindle Store. Thousands of titles are available for students for a period ranging from 30 to 360 days. Students can also extend rental times day by day. Once rented, they can access the textbook from your Mac, PC, Kindle or smartphone.
"We're excited to offer students an option to rent Kindle textbooks and only pay for the time they need--with savings up to 80 per cent off the print list price on a 30-day rental," said Dave Limp, vice president, Amazon Kindle.
Limp said Amazon has extended its Whispersnyc technology that enables students to access all their notes and highlighted content in the Amazon Cloud, even after the rental period completes.
It is certainly a great idea for college students as textbooks are one of the biggest expenses for students. The offer brings with it two advantages: first students will be able to get the latest versions and second they'll save themselves from the hassle of reselling the book.
Amazon is not new to digital e-books market as in May it announced that sales for its digital book format had surpassed hardcover sales.
