Boundless offers a free substitute for college
texts for a wide range of upper-level subjects.
Frustrated by the high cost of college textbooks? You may have a high-tech alternative available. Meet Boundless, a newly updated app that curates knowledge from around the Internet into open-source textbooks for college courses.
Boundless offers study materials for a wide range of both entry- and upper-level courses: Accounting, Calculus, Chemistry and Sociology, just to name a few. You can browse through concepts manually for free. For $19.99, you can have the app arrange content to approximate popular college texts in use around the country. The premium service also offers flashcards and quizzes to help you better understand and learn the material.
The makers of the app claim, “Boundless is better than your assigned textbook.” After browsing the content of the app, I’m not sure that’s quite accurate – a lot of the information contained within is curated from Wikipedia and not presented in the most easy-to-understand manner. In-app purchase prompts are obnoxious and could potentially lead you to accidentally buy unwanted content.
Still, much of Boundless is a free service. Even if it doesn’t replace a college textbook, it can definitely supplement one. If you’re a college student or an intellectually curious adult, it’s worth trying out.
Boundless is available as a free download for iOS devices on iTunes.
