At a press event today, Apple unveiled an updated version of its iBooks and the new iAuthor software. As expected, both focus on new interactive textbooks intended for the education market.
iBooks textbooks offer iPad users gorgeous, fullscreen textbooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, unrivaled navigation and much more. iBooks textbooks can be kept up to date, don’t weigh down a backpack and never have to be returned.
The iBooks 2 app supports multitouch, highlighting and note-taking, searching and definitions. Textbooks can also include lesson reviews and study cards.
Initially, Apple will offer high school-level textbooks from partners that include Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson. Most will sell for US$14.99 or less from the iBookStore.
Apple also unveiled its new iBooks Author, a free authoring tool that will allow the creation of new iBooks textbooks. Authors will be able to use a variety of Apple-designed templates as well as their own and embed a variety of content including text, images, video, 3D objects, and HTML to create their books. Publication to the iBookstore will also be done within the app.
Both iBooks 2 and iAuthor are now available for free. Textbooks and iBooks Author are only available in the U.S. for now. This is likely to change once Apple secures licensing and publishing deals in other countries.
It will be interesting to see how schools and their boards embrace this new model. Will they jump on or will the price of the necessary iPads hold them back?
Read more: Apple