http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/amazons_kindle_flunks_out_college

Amazon last year launched its Kindle Pilot Program, in which it sold a number of Kindle DX readers to several universities at a 50 percent discount. Students were allowed to use them free of charge, but as it turns out, most college students aren't yet ready to trade in their textbooks for Kindles.

At the University of Virginia, for example, about 80 percent of MBA students who participated in the program said they wouldn't recommend the Kindle DX for classroom use, even though they enjoyed it for recreational reading. And at Princeton University and Reed College, students said they missed the ability to write in the margins, easily highlight passages, or view color charts and graphics, the Seattle Times reports.

"You don't read textbooks in the same linear way as a novel," said Roesner, a 23-year-old graduate student. "You have to flip back and forth between pages, an the Kindle is too slow for that. Also, the bookmarking function is buggy."

The complaints haven't fallen on deaf ears. Amazon last month announced software upgrades that enable Kindle users to sort books into collections and zoom PDF documents.

"The pilot programs are doing their job -- getting us valuable feedback," said spokesman Drew Herdener.

Barnes and Noble Partnering with Pandigital to Create $200 Color eReader

Bookseller and Nook purveyor Barnes and Noble has decided to partner with Pandigital to bring a $199.99 color ereader to the market. The device, known as the Pandigital Novel, will use a regular backlit LCD instead of an eInk display like the Kindle or Nook. The Android-based Novel will have a 7-inch 800x600 resolution resistive touchscreen display, and ARM 11 CPU, Wi-Fi, and 1GB of internal storage with support for SD cards.

In many ways, it's really more of an inexpensive tablet that happens to be sold by a bookseller. The Novel will have a full web browser, and multimedia capabilities. Details on just what sort of multimedia experience would be available were not forthcoming, but it will play MP3s and some video formats. Experience with Android means probably H.264 encoded files. As far as ebooks, we're pleased to hear it will support books from Barnes and Noble's store as well as any files formatted as PDF, EPUB, or HTML. Battery life for reading is listed as only 6 hours though.

It's clearly not a match for the iPad on features, but the price is less than half of even the low end model of the Apple device. It is even cheaper than standard eInk-based readers, which often clock in at $260. We'll be interested to see if anyone goes for this device over the competition. Look for it to ship in June.

Rumblings at Amazon About Tablet-esque Features for the Kindle

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The initial reaction to the iPad has been mixed. But the mixed reaction hasn't necessarily soothed any nerves among its potential competitors. The fractured response means that they will have to wait a bit longer to take stock of the challenge. From the looks of it, Amazon is not awaiting the public's final word on the iPad to post its reply. After all, the iPad is supposed to be Kindle's sternest test till date.

A few days after Amazon was reported to have acquired touch screen company Touchco, the New York Times has unearthed at least 50 job listings on Amazon’s Lab126 career board that all seem to be pointing towards a Kindle equipped with a color screen, multitouch and Wi-Fi. The “Hardware Display Manager,” according to one of the job postings, must have "significant exposure to high volume manufacturing environments; you will know the LCD business and key players in the market."