RentScouter

The Kno tablet was to be a hardware solution for cheap textbooks.

As we reported in January, Kno tablet thought their unique tablet design was the answer; however, it now appears they believe the answers lies in software. They recently secured another $30 million in investment capital led by Intel Capital.  As a part of the deal Intel will acquire the Kno tablet designs that it is planning on releasing to other tablet hardware manufacturers, while Kno will focus on its software to manage devices focused on the college market and delivery cheap textbooks solutions to college students.

Sources report that the Kno executives, including Osman Rashid, founder of textbook rental company Chegg that is rumored to be focusing on preparing for an IPO in the near future.  Rashid has a great deal of experience providing cheap textbooks to students with Chegg that allowed students to rent college books online, but also he directed the company in more of digital education direction before leaving to found Kno.  It is believed that after looking at the already very competitive tablet market, currently dominated by Apple, but including Google, Motorola, Microsoft, and Dell, Rashid and Kno decided it would be better to focus on software solutions and leave the hardware to the heavy hitter experts.  The Kno had been priced at $599 and $899 for the dual screen model, but reports say that very few of the units have shipped, especially when compared to the millions of iPad 2 units that shipped within weeks of initial release.

Kno Tablet was to be the hardware solution for cheap textbooks

Therefore, Kno will now be focused on providing its software solutions to other tablet devices like the iPad platform, but also including platforms based upon the Google Android mobile computing platform expected to be released over the next several months.  “We are excited to have the opportunity to continue building our solutions in broader education markets and onto the innovative Intel-based platforms,” said Osman Rashid, CEO and Co-Founder, Kno, Inc. “We look forward to working together with the ultimate goal of making learning engaging, collaborative and fun for students.”  Kno will continue to focus its software to accomplish its mission of making college learning more interactive, engaging, social for students and ultimately more effective.  Look for Kno to provide a creative solution in the etextbook market as they now solely focus on electronic textbook innovations.

For now, rent college textbooks online for cheap textbooks and get a online comparison for selling textbooks for cash.

Look for Kno to bring us a solution for cheap textbooks in the near future.

Not only is college tuition costly these days, but the textbooks are too – save money when you rent textbooks.

Rent Textbooks Online with BookRenter

It is sad that a college student has to invest hundreds of dollars on books that they’ll only require for one semester or so. Fortunately, there’s an option. It’s now possible to basically rent textbooks! Just renting books online rather than purchasing them at the college bookstore can save hundreds of dollars, and that income can then be utilized for other expenses beyond pizza or ramen noodles.

The process is very easy. Just as there are video and costume rentals on the internet, there are also textbook rentals.  Heck, there are even videos about renting textbooks online.  All it takes is a search for the titles, ISBN, or author. Students can even rent books for an whole semester, extend their textbook rental, and even purchase the textbook online if they wish!  Right after placing the order, the books will be shipped out swiftly – even overnight delivery if you want it. After the textbook rental period is up, renters can basically mail the school book back to the rental company.The costs differ from textbook rental company to company, so students want to do some price comparisons before placing an order. Still, any rental price is far more inexpensive than purchasing textbooks at full cost. To make sure they save the most funds feasible, however, students want to do a bit of study to locate the cheapest textbooks. Any person who wants to rent textbooks can potentially save up to 80%!

One thing to check into is regardless of whether or not your required textbooks incorporate CD-ROM/DVDs and other materials that are supposed to accompany the textbooks. Some course material consists of more than just a textbook, and some textbook rental web sites provide the entire package even though other online book rental companies may possibly only provide the book for rent.  However, most online textbook rental companies no have a “any reason” return policy so if you rent a textbook only to learn it doesn’t include the necessary media for your college course you can return it.

Shipping costs vary from book rental company to company so a textbook rental price comparison is important.  Shipping expenses are obviously a crucial factor that ought to be checked into by those wanting to rent textbooks online. There is also the matter of renters shipping the books back whenever the rental period is over.  Most online book rental companies include the cost of shipping in the initial textbook rental price.

All in all, if you rent textbooks online, it will likely save lots of money on college textbooks.

There is a new trend among college students to rent college books online. Renting the required books online can drastically reduce the cost of textbooks for college students who are already strapped for cash. Students who need to have access to cheap textbooks, and are forced to be budget conscious, should start their search to rent college books online with a textbook rental price comparison.

Many students chose to rent instead of buy because they understand that their books will not be needed in the future. They are not only saving themselves money by renting, they are also helping the environment when fewer books must be printed each year.

Renting text books is quite similar to checking them out from a library for an extended length of time. A student goes online, finds the required textbooks, and then places their order. They pay a reduced fee for renting the text book, and then are shipped the book. At the time of rental the student agrees to keep the book for a certain amount of time. This time period is often a single semester. After the semester ends, the book is returned.

Renting college books online is a great way to have access to even the most expensive college books. Most times when students have completed the course they purchased the book for they will never use it again. Instead of taking up space on a bookshelf, students can chose to rent the book, use it for the required class, and then return it when they are finished. It is a winning situation for both the retailer, who can rent the same book the following semester and the student who saved a substantial amount of money.

The difference between purchasing a new textbook and renting a used textbook can be astronomical. Sometimes the cost varies as much as 50%! Many college students in this economy are working to put themselves through school. As a result, they are conscious of every penny spent. The ability to possibly save hundreds of dollars a semester does not go unnoticed.

Many large retailers are embracing the rental of college books online. Large bookstores such as Barnes & Noble have developed book rental divisions because of the wide popularity in students choosing to rent college books online. Rather a student rents a textbook because of finances, or to reduce the strain on the environment it has become a very popular tend.  Many college bookstores are embracing the idea as well and using resources provided by BookRenter to handle their textbook rental offerings to college students nationwide.  TextbookStop is trying a novel approach with their RentBack program to allow students to sell their books at anytime during the semester and rent them back for only one dollar allowing students to make cash before the typical end of semester textbook sell back time frame.