Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon has been renting out Kindle editions of textbooks for sometime now, but not all the educational tomes you need may be available in electronic form. And, believe it or not, some people just plain prefer paper to E-ink — especially since its much easier to take notes in the margins. Now many of the more expensive texts on the site also feature a rent option. Most are in the $30 to $60 range and are rented by the semester, which Amazon counts as 130 days. Should you need it for a bit longer, you can extend your rental period by 15 days, but only once. On the plus side, Amazon will pay for the shipping on the return of the books. For more info, check out the FAQ at the source.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Amazon begins renting paper textbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IBM first tried to make people “Think” using a pop-up art installation in New York, but now it’s switched to something rather more traditional: a tablet app that is available free on iOS and Android. It lays out the timeline of scientific advances like the metal detector, airplane and telescope, and contains a ten-minute HD film on tech innovation, to boot. IBM claims the app will be used in schools to create lesson plans, so you might want to grab it (see coverage link below) before your kids start clueing you in on technology — even more than usual, that is.

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

IBM’s Think app brings history of innovation to iPad and Android tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s 3D City View is now available on iOS. The Google Earth update adds three-dimensional imagery to major locations including Washington D.C, San Francisco and Boston. It’s arriving alongside Tour Guide; select a notable attraction to go straight to it, with accompanying trivia you can bore your friends with later. Sadly 3D maps requires the processing hardware of the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or the third-generation iPad, but other iOS (4.2 or higher) device users can still get access to Tour Guide. Unsurprisingly, the update’s available via the App Store — but you shouldn’t need a map to find your way there.

Filed under: GPS, Software

PSA: Google’s 3D City View and Tour Guide arrives for Google Earth on iOS today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re wondering about the possible benefits of tablets in the education sector, Apple’s Q3 earnings call has revealed that they sold twice as many iPads as they did Macs to the education sector. While computers could be arguably more useful and efficient when it comes to productivity (i.e. creating spreadsheets, typing up reports and the likes), the iPad has been seen as particularly useful in the education sector due to the numerous apps and interactivity. With iTunes U and iBooks Textbooks for the iPad, it certainly looks like Apple is making a strong case for the use of the iPad as an educational tool. We guess this isn’t really a surprise as we have come across reports in the past where schools have purchased tablets for use in the class, both iOS and Android alike.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: San Diego Unified School District purchases 26,000 iPads to be used in classrooms, LectureTools is an iPad app that hopes to make lectures a more engaging and intimate experience,

In light of recent scandals, it’s hard not to see this as a bit of image rehabilitation, but we’ll do our best to take it at face value. News Corp is bringing its 18-month-old educational division to the fore by rebranding it Amplify and teaming up with AT&T to put tablets in the hands of students. The unit will focus on developing products and services tailored for classrooms, ranging from kindergarten through high school. And, at the center of that ecosystem, will be the Amplify Tablet (which, judging from the video below, appears to be a modified Galaxy Tab). Videos, encyclopedia entries, books and even remote tutoring apps will all be just a tap away. The tablets will get their first trial run in the US during the 2012-2013 school year. With the phone hacking scandal behind him, former New York City school chancellor Joel Klein (who headed up News Corp’s internal investigation), is free to focus on getting Amplify rolling and into classrooms across the nation. Before you head off, make sure to watch the clip from AT&T after the break.

Continue reading News Corp launches Amplify educational unit, with help from AT&T (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Tablet PCs

News Corp launches Amplify educational unit, with help from AT&T (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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