[Correction: The university planning to offer the iPads was incorrectly identified in the initial version of this post. It is Seton Hill University.]

We've written in the past about the efforts of Amazon.com to bring its Kindle electronic reading device to universities, including The University of Washington and Jeff Bezos' alma mater of Princeton University. But Amazon may have a new formidable competitor when it comes to students accessing textbooks and other information on slim computing devices.

Seton Hill University, a small Catholic university located in Greensburg, Penn., said today that it plans to give each of its full-time students a new iPad beginning this fall. About 2,100 students attend Seton Hill, so at the lowest retail price point of $499 (and not factoring in any possible bulk discounts) it would amount to just over a $1 million initial investment.

The University writes:

The iPad initiative kicks off the University's Griffin Technology Advantage Program. This new program provides students with the best in technology and collaborative learning tools, ensuring that Seton Hill students will be uniquely suited to whatever careers they choose - even those that have not yet been created.

Apple has historically been strong in the education market, and efforts like the one gaining attention today from Seton Hill might continue that trend.

Amazon has been testing its Kindle DX electronic reader with a handful of universities as a replacement for printed materials in courses. Now Princeton University — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' alma mater — is giving its assessment. While the DX earned praise for its battery life, portability and paper reduction, students and faculty had issues with the device's ability to highlight and annotate text, its folder structure and navigation controls.

The feedback, which mirrors what we heard last year from some University of Washington students who are testing the DX, may inform Amazon's development of future e-readers.

The Princeton press release on the Kindle pilot results is an interesting read, full of comments from students and faculty. You can find more detailed information on the Princeton pilot here.

It's not clear if any of the universities taking part in the pilot will adopt the Kindle DX for wider use.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department announced a deal with three of the universities, saying they would not buy or promote the Kindle DX or other e-readers unless the devices are made more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Advocacy groups for the blind have taken issue with the Kindle's read-aloud feature, which does not extend to the Kindle's menu or navigation controls (meaning visually impaired people can't buy e-books or select them for reading).