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ETextbook app makes learning mobile

Students can now access text books from their iPhone as fast as they can update their status on Facebook thanks to a new application from CourseSmart.

CourseSmart, a digital course materials supplier, has launched its eTextbooks application for college students. The application for the iPhone and iPod touch gives students and professors full access to the CourseSmart eTextbooks they buy.

"We've seen significant demand from student customers for the ability to get required textbook content in electronic form on an iPhone or iPod touch," said Frank Lyman, executive vice president of CourseSmart, San Mateo, CA.

"It's important to students to be able to access textbook content in color with the same page layout as a printed textbook and CourseSmart's eTextbooks on the iPhone application allows them to do that," he said.

CourseSmart is a provider of eTextbooks that has grown a digital library of more than 7,000 core college textbooks, which are all faculty-recommended and publisher-approved.

CourseSmart claims that its digital textbooks can be bought at an average of half the price of print texts. CourseSmart also offers the ability to print, copy and paste.

"All college students in North America should be able to find at least one of their required textbooks as an eTextbook at CourseSmart," Mr. Lyman said. "Current CourseSmart student customers can download the free eTextbooks for the iPhone app and have access to all of their eTextbooks.

"Additionally, iPhone or iPod touch owners who are not already customers of CourseSmart will be able to download the app and have trial access to a chapter from five of the most frequently purchased college textbooks on the market," he said.

The application from CourseSmart allows users to browse through its catalogue of eTextbooks and buy course materials for less than the print versions cost.

From then on, users will have mobile access to the textbooks they need from their iPhone or iPod touch.

The application also keeps all the content properly formatted so that students never miss out on diagrams, illustrations and charts.

CourseSmart claims that students value the ability to access textbook information from their mobile devices.

The eTextbooks on the iPhone application also gives users the ability to stack their eTextbooks in the My Textbooks personal online library. Students can search by keyword through their stack to zero in on needed information.

Users can access their stack of eTextbooks bought via the mobile application online at http://www.coursesmart.com.

From there, students can copy and paste or print out any pages they may need, giving users full physical and digital access to their course materials at any time.

ETextbooks for iPhone is available for download in the Apple App Store for free and there are currently no advertisements being deployed within the application.

"We see incredible potential for iPhone and iPod touch applications in education and look forward to continuing to provide students access to course materials on devices they choose to own," Mr. Lyman said.