The wallets (and backs) of college students could benefit from the Amazon Kindle, if more textbooks were offered for the device. We asked several students at the University of Washington if they'd prefer to purchase and read their textbooks on the e-reader. Most expressed doubts about making the switch.

Britanny Jennings, 19, UW communication major: "I'd rather use textbooks because it'd be easier to take notes and books have a bigger surface to look at and write in. Plus, what if you lost it? It's small -- you'd lose out on the $360 plus all your textbooks.  

Andrew Ohana, 20, UW mathematics major: "If there were more textbooks available it would be a more attractive option. I don't write in my textbooks, I use them more as a reference."

 

Steven Sievers, 19, UW computer science major: "I like to draw and write all over my textbooks. It [a Kindle] would take getting used to and that would be more of a hinderance and something I don't want to deal with."
 

Rhea Whitney, 20, UW environmental studies major: "I'd wait until other people bought it and saw the Kindle's user interface. I like to flip back and forth and be able to reference things really easily."

Brandon Kazen-Maddox, 20, UW Spanish, French and International Studies major: "I'd say regular textbooks but only because I'm a language major. I have to be able to easily annotate, highlight, circle and mark-up my texts. Even in other classes, I'm not sure I'd be able to go electronic for my books."

Alan Hirkic, 19, UW economics major: "I think I'd use the Kindle because I'd be able to study on the go. I am busy but can't always carry textbooks around with me."

Roni Ayalla, who filed this report for TechFlash, is a student in the University of Washington's Master of Communication in Digital Media program. Read her blog here or email her tips or suggestions at roniayalla@gmail.com.