When Amazon released their large format Kindle DX e-book reader in June of 2009, it created a lot of excitement in the world of academic publishing. The original Kindle, released in November 2007, and the enhanced Kindle 2, which followed in February of 2009, had both created some interest – but nothing like the level of buzz generated by the DX.

Maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The DX’s large display was specifically intended to satisfy the needs of readers of newspapers, magazines and academic textbooks after all. In addition to agreeing partnerships with various colleges and universities, Amazon also benefited from a lot of publicity as a result of a number of political bodies who publicly supported the use of digital textbooks and e-book readers.

Always under financial pressure – educational bodies very quickly realised that digital textbooks not only had the potential to yield financial savings, but that it would be easier to keep textbooks updated. Currently there is, on average, a seven year timespan between revisions of textbooks. Digital media are much easier to revise and update, so a huge improvement would be possible.

The relatively high cost of the readers would be one potential obstacle to their widespread adoption. However, based upon the price of the Kindle 2, which has fallen by $ 100 to $ 259 in the eight months since it launched, it seems reasonable to assume that prices will fall to the point where e-book readers become a viable proposition.

The general consensus among business analysts seems to be that a price in the region of $ 150 is what is required in order to see e-book readers move into the mainstream consumer marketplace. There is currently a very high level of competition in this sector – Microsoft, Asus, Sony, Apple and Barnes and Noble are just some of the companies competing with Amazon and who have readers of their own under development. With so many manufacturers chasing market share, it doesn’t seem impossible that the $ 150 mark could be achieved – maybe even in 2010. Shave another few dollars off for a bulk discount and e-book readers in classrooms and lecture theatres start to look more and more likely.

There are however, some further obstacles to overcome. Blind students for example, have complained that the Kindle puts them at a disadvantage. Although a text-to-speech option, which you might imagine would be helpful, is included in the Kindle, it requires a lot of navigation through text menus to arrive at it. At the moment, Amazon are developing audio menus which may go some way to addressing such concerns.

The durability of the devices may also be suspect for use by students. There were some complaints regarding cracking screens in Kindles – which may have been related to non-proprietary covers rather than the device itself. It does seem likely that e-book readers used by students could pick up a few bumps and scrapes during the course of the academic year. Perhaps a ruggedized reader may be required.

Thus far, it seems as if the Kindle got off to a good start in education and then hit a few snags. None of these seem to be major though – especially not if you consider the level of determination and innovation Amazon have shown thus far. The adoption of electronic books in the classroom does look more and more likely all the time. It appears as if the Kindle may be at the beginning of a long and successful academic career.