Save a Tree Using Mobile Apps

TEARN media has been compiling more anthologies like the 5,000 word SAT/GRE prep series and 5,000 term Biology series. This post attempts to convert these collections into paper equivalents - just for fun!

How Many Pages in an App?

An app is not the same as a book, magazine, or webpage. An app is hundreds of pages, and the content of each page can be video, interactive games, or 3D images that auto-scroll. (How else can we fit this great information on a small phone;-) We guesstimate that each typical app has 250 to 500 3D-type pages. A collection of 10 apps can easily match the contents of an encyclopedia-level effort which has multiple 500-page+ volumes.

What's A Book Weigh?

A quick search of Amazon shows that a typical, full-sized book of 500 pages weighs over 2 pounds - 2.5 with a hardcover. A collection of 10 apps would have 5,000 3D pages, save 3,000+ sheets of copy paper. According to Answer.com, an app collection when presented as book equivalent would use a little more than one third of a tree.

By the way, these anthologies can easily cost $100 to $200 per set.

Isn't it amazing that 12 pounds of anthology equivalent fits on a mobile device that weighs 5 ounces?

Why Replace Books with Apps?

Each collection presents the best-of-the-best, evergreen information about each subject - as photos, links to articles, and videos. Can any book match the comprehensive nature of our crowd-sourced collections?

Let's summarize weight, value, and green impact. By adopting a collection of mobile apps, each app:

weighs over ten pounds less

costs $100 less to buy -- 80% of which is wasted on trees, transport petroleum, and chemicals for printing

is more convenient to use since it fits in your phone

saves 1/3rd of a tree

Thus, every download that displaces an anthology saves the earth over $80. Is that your personal giving to our green earth? FYI.