Kno vs VitalSource E-book

springchick1, ADN, RN · Dec 21, 2013

I would wait and see if your school recommends one. Sometimes they have a deal with the companies and you can get your books cheaper.

ltran · Dec 21, 2013

I was told we are to get our own books. So there are no discount. So I'm just trying to see which platform students find more beneficial before I start buying my textbooks.

Divatologist, ADN · Dec 22, 2013

I use vitalsource for my eBooks. I don't know about Kno. Vitalsource worked fine for me. I can highlight the sections I need. You can make notes on those highlights as well. You can even organize your highlights with your own titles and choose different colors for each. I had pink highlights for my "reading assignments". I had green for "need to know for exam", etc. Some eBooks don't use the vitalsource format and may show up like web pages. My fundamentals book was like this. The ebooks that use the vitalsource platform are great. They have links that take you to a point/table/page that may be referenced online or in another chapter. There is a search option and you can also enter in a page number and it takes you right to that page. With my med/surg book, one page may span over 3 to 4 pages/swipes because of the size I have the font set to. You have to remember how thick that med/surg book is and how much info they pack on one page in the actual book. You can click on the pics and tables to view them up close. You can adjust the font size and other things too. It also has a dictionary. The ebooks that don't use that format have to be zoomed in or out. They also lack the links that can take you to various references in the chapter. Only one of my books had that problem. You can still highlight and do everything else. It's a little annoying to highlight because the page moves just like a regular web page does on most touch screen devices. Oh I use it with my ipad and even have it on my phone. I have not actually printed anything from within the chapter. I do print out the keynotes at the end of the chapter. I log on to my computer for that. All in all, it works for me.

Stephalump · Dec 22, 2013

Kno is more aesthetically pleasing, but I've found vital source to be way less buggy and more efficient for study purposes.

Everline · Dec 23, 2013

I use vital source. It has its occasionally glitches, but overall has been a great help.

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Dec 25, 2013

I've heard that Kno only rents the books for a certain period of time, and you don't get to keep them forever. I could be wrong, but it is something to look in to. I use Vital Source and I have been pleased with it. It's better than Nook or Kindle for textbooks.

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Dec 25, 2013

On Vitalsource, you get unlimited copy/pasting and printing and you can share highlights if you want. Our first semester teachers would share highlights with us. Also very important, the page numbers are true to the book.

g_benavides · Jan 9, 2014

I am currently having the same issue trying to figure out which one is better. However this is my second semester in nursing school. Last semester I bought the physical textbooks. It was the worst decision I could have done. I am looking into e-books this semester and since it is going to be my first time I'm a little skeptical about it. The comments I have read so far have leaned more toward VitalSource. I'm still a little unsure; has anyone tried both interfaces? I would be accessing my books mostly on my tablet which is a samsung galaxy tab 3; has anyone used this and experienced any issues?

downeyc · Nov 14, 2014

If your school does not specify, you can always compare the two for yourself. Pageburst - More About It

Kno seems to have more interactions available, especially if you are using a touch screen device, but VitalSource is getting better reviews when it comes to reliability.