With College students returning back to school next month, Amazon has made available today Kindle textbook rental. Â Amazon states that students will be able to save as much as 80% on textbooks.
Amazon’s entry, which comes after rival Barnes & Noble‘s, arrives as the National Association of College Stores estimates that U.S. college stores posted $10.25 billion in sales for the 2009-2010 fiscal year with each student spending $745 on average.
Amazon, of course, has had tremendous success converting the general market to ebooks. In May, the online retailer announced sales for its digital book format had surpassed hardcover sales. Meanwhile, publishers — aware of the migration into ebooks — are attempting to get ahead of the trend as well. In January, McGraw-Hilllaunched its first cloud-based textbook, which was aimed at the K-12 market.
[Mashable]
