Flat World Knowledge to Reach 40,000 Students This Fall

Digital publisher Flat World Knowledge announced today that 40,000 college students at more than 400 colleges will be using the company’s textbooks this Fall– a dramatic increase from 1,000 students at 30 colleges who used the textbooks this Spring.

The company has built an innovative pay structure that should appeal to cash-strapped students, and could help set a standard for textbook pricing. Students can read entire textbooks for free online via web browsers; pay $19.95 for a PDF download; pay $29.95 for a black and white printed version or $59.95 for a color version, or pay $39.95 for an audio version.

Here’s a statement from co-founder Eric Frank, from the release: “Traditional textbooks have clearly failed students and instructors … Similarly, digital textbook trials that force a single format, device, or price point will also fail. No single e-reading format or device will ever satisfy all students. Our commercial open source textbook approach puts control and the power of choice in the hands of students and instructors.”

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