Kno thought "Let's replace the text book" and started out with solving the technical problem of two tablets joined together to mimic the pages of a text book. While it's a beautiful product, it's wrong. I'll place a solid bet that the way to disrupt this market it to start re-thinking from the start and the goal.
The goal isn't to have a text book, the goal is to "transfer information" in a method that is linear, but can be referenced later for study. A method that can be used as a study aid for lecturers and teachers, and move at the same pace and format as classes.
If I set you that goal today - with limitless boundaries, you would not come up with a text book.
This product is going to sell itself short - it'll be a mediocre hit. It's not the text books that need to change - it's the method education that needs to change.
-Robin.
Kno aren't in a position to change universities' approaches to learning. What they can do it provide more function within the existing constraints. That's what I suspect their approach was.
The product actually looks quite good. I assume you use two screens and appreciate the division of function you sometimes use them for. You might be surprised at how many people don't even multi-task. The physical separation of tasks will facilitate this -- read on one page and take notes on the other.
http://www.asktog.com/papers/raskinintuit.html
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