CourseSmart Review

I've used the CourseSmart app on my iPad 1 and I can say that it's worked very nicely on mine. They updated it some time ago that enhanced the speed of the app very well. I felt the reviews folks gave in the App Store really helped out in my decision to use CourseSmart. I probably won't be using it much more for new textbooks, just the ones I have, since my music major coursework doesn't really use textbooks and I've finished my African-American studies coursework, just working on my thesis paper, so I can't speak on the performance of new titles, but I'm sure it'll work just the same. I feel it's a worthwhile investment, especially if you're using it with the iPad 2.

CourseSmart...

If you are considering purchasing a CourseSmart product I recommend that you either learn from my mistake and DO NOT BUY ANY BOOKS from CourseSmart or check out the free trial before you decide to purchase.
After I paid $104 for a microbiology textbook thinking it would be a convenient way to have all my heavy text books with me where ever I go, I found out that there are so many cons it was not worth all the trouble. I ended up feeling ripped off after my 180day online rental.

PROS:
-light weight; don't have to carry heavy text books
-each chapter is organized by quick links on the side
-easy to look up chapters, terms, and page numbers
-allows you to copy, highlight, take notes, print, or share selected text (*with limitations)

CONS:
-too expensive; not worth it
-after a short two week time frame from the purchase date you will no longer be able to return or sell this book back
-it is NOT VERY USER FRIENDLY!!!
-must log in multiple times because the program will sometimes log out without warning
***username and password cannot be saved in browser history
-can highlight but hard to select the exact area that you need highlighted
-can copy and paste but you must first select the area of text that you would like to copy, then press the copy button at the top of the screen, then a new window will pop up, then you must reselect and copy the text that is inside the new window
*short-cut commands will not work (for example: pressing control+c on your pc or command+c on your mac will not copy the selected text)
***if the font was bold, italics, etc. in the text it will be changed to a default font in new window where it is no longer bold, italics, etc.
***if copying multiple paragraphs the paragraphs will no longer be neatly separated
***not allowed to copy or paste any images/pictures or tables from the text
-only allowed to print 10pages at once
-when taking notes your notes are only visible one note at a time after you have clicked the notes tab, and selected the note that you would like to view
***cannot view notes while simultaneously viewing the text
-while reading only one page is visible view at a time
-there is no option available to view two pages at once like in a printed text
-if you need a text-to-speech application it WILL NOT work
"The Apple OSX VoiceOver system can be used with CourseSmart to provide text-to-speech capabilities. Users with experience using VoiceOver on iOS devices can also use it on the iPad and iPhone. CourseSmart cannot support users in the use of the Apple products"
***quote taken from CourseSmart help page

...If the cons listed above are not issues for you then by all means enjoy your experience with CourseSmart. My expectations may have just been too high for an online text.

Sincerely,

UNSATISFIED STUDENT

Overall Rating:
Avoid It

Recommended:
No

I think coursesmart is ok

I have it on my iPad this year, but if you can get your books on Inkling, I'd recommend that over coursesmart. As mentioned earlier, highlighting o coursesmart is kind of a pain for one thing, there is more interactive content that is in inkling, plus with Inkling, you own your book and can purchase only the chapters you need if you don't need the whole book.

Overall though, i think it is good enough that I would use it to save $107.