For any of us who have attended a college or university, we are keenly aware that textbooks are the second most costly expense, directly behind tuition, that a college student is hit with when they start a new term. These books and/or workbooks can typically cost $100 upwards for a three-month class and can then only be redeemed if the same version is being used the following term and then for only a mere fraction of what was paid for it.

Now, however, the introduction of the Kindle Amazon presents a new and unique offering that will allow college and university students to rent college textbooks via the Kindle. In addition, the textbooks can also be rented via Kindle apps that have been developed for a laptop or tablet computer system like the Apple iPad. Above the cost savings, which will be beneficial, the portability of this system will allow any college student to have a complete set of all of their college textbooks right at their fingertips.

According to the Amazon Web site, the savings is up to 80% off of the current list price for a standard college textbook. While once again the cost of these rentals is going to be reasonable, it must be noted that another major advantage to the student is that they will be able to rent them for extended periods of time (30-360 days), or even in increments of one day at a time. Another benefit, according to Amazon, is that a student will still be able to access their notes and annotations after the rental expires. This fact alone adds additional value to this option over purchasing the standard textbook.

Given the above advantages to college students, one would hope that this option would one day be expanded to include high school and even elementary students, thus saving strapped school districts across the country vast amounts of money. I would even venture a guess that, over the years, these savings could enable school districts to provide iPads for those students who could not afford to purchase them on their own.

Comments welcome.

The Amazon Kindle textbook rental Web site is located here.