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Princeton University has become the latest to announce that they have plans to begin offering Kindle editions of their textbooks. Joining other universities such as Yale, Oxford, and UC Berkeley the Princeton textbooks will be available beginning in the fall semester.

While there was not any mention of the pricing for the Kindle edition books, the nice part here is that students will have a much easier time carrying around a Kindle loaded with textbooks as compared to a backpack filled with textbooks. In addition the built-in functionality of the Kindle should only aid in studying. The Kindle has support to highlight portions of the text, make notes for future reference and even search to find the text you are looking for. While students could always highlight and make notes, the added search should make studying or trying to find something much easier than thumbing through several hundred pages of text.

Aside from hopefully making it easier to study, the Kindle can purchase books from anywhere, which would be nice and also a huge time saver at the beginning of school, no more long lines at the bookstore. Of course, on the flip side, the Kindle edition likely cannot be sold back to get some extra cash at the end of the semester.

Still a worthwhile trade off in my opinion. Hopefully the Kindle will make its way to more colleges across the US.

Read [CNET]

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Princeton has just released a new and very little USB Bluetooth adapter. The PTM-UBT4 measures in at just 4.5 x 23 x 14mm and has a working range of 300-foot. The adapter is Bluetooth 2.0+EDR which means you can expect speeds of up to 3Mbps. The adapter is expected to be available in Japan later this month and will retail for ¥2,980 (about $28).

Via [Engadget]

• Princeton’s Mac mini-shaped KVM switch
• Princeton will soon offer Kindle edition textbooks

If you’re a PC user and you have a need for a Mac in your life, you get the Mac mini.  If you want to use the same mouse, keyboard and monitor with both your PC and Mac, a KVM switch will do the job.  KVM switches allow you to share USB ports, speakers, and microphones as well.

Princeton Technology Corporation of Japan has just introduced their PKV-02MM, which looks like the Mac mini.  The switch is designed to sit under the Mac mini without standing out.  Belkin has been working on their version of a KVM switch for the mini but has yet to release or even build it.  Princeton’s switch supports Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.  If you ever need to be able to choose which peripherals you use with which computer, this device is for you.

Read [Engadget]

• Princeton PTM-UBT4; Little Bluetooth adapter with big range
• Princeton will soon offer Kindle edition textbooks