Barnes & Noble’s NOOKstudy eReader software is now available for PC and Mac, for free. This software allows students to purchase and view eTextbooks on their computer at a fraction of the cost of a physical textbook.
Dedicated eReader devices, such as the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook have taken the world by storm. Apple threw itself into the mix by creating iBooks for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Barnes & Noble NOOKstudy software allows students to use eBooks and eTextbooks, without the need to purchase a pricey dedicated eReader or Apple iOS device. Actually NOOKstudy offers textbooks that aren’t even available for the other formats. Here’s why:
“Textbooks are complex and usually graphic-intensive; they do not display well on small screens,” Barnes & Noble said. “However, if you have purchased e-books (e.g. Moby Dick, Pride & Prejudice, etc) that are predominantly text, those are supported on Nook and mobile devices, in addition to Nook Study.”
NOOKstudy allows you to:
- Download and organize all of your textbooks
- Manage class syllabi, handouts, lecture notes, and leisure reading
- Organize materials by course
- Take notes directly in your eTextbooks
- Highlight passages
- Search for specific text in each book as well as your notes
- Open multiple textbooks at the same time
- Zoom-in on pictures and diagrams
- Look up definitions and formulas on websites such as Google and Dictionary.com.
Barnes & Noble claims that the company offers approximately 6,000 eTextbooks. However, when searching for textbooks for this coming Fall semester, I did not find a single electronic version. It may be a while before eTextbooks really take off to the point where nearly all textbooks have an electronic alternative. So, for at least this semester, I will be using the tried and true physical textbooks.
Download NOOKstudy today and try it out for yourself.
Via PC Magazine