Aiming to press the reset button on the textbook industry, Apple today unveiled iBooks 2 during an announcement at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum.
Says Apple’s Phil Schiller: iBooks 2 is a “new textbook experience for the iPad.” The company has a nice head start. In less than two years after unveiling the iconic tablet computer, Apple already markets more than 20,000 learning and education apps for the iPad – mostly created by independent developers.
Luddites concerned that the generations-old practice of deriving knowledge through black ink on white pages often bound within hundreds of pages will need to confront at least three stark realities:
1) Most textbooks that would normally run $50 or $100 or more can now be purchased for less than $15.
2) Several pounds of heavy textbooks can now be contained in one iPad.
3) You can’t swipe a textbook.
Success is not guaranteed
Having said all of that, not every Apple initiative is a guaranteed slam dunk (or in this case A+). Nearly a year ago at the same location, you might recall, Apple announced a joint venture with Newscorp that was supposed to reinvent the magazine industry.
While The Daily iPad app occasionally offers compelling journalism, it has yet to make a meaningful dent in the industry it set out to reinvent.
For every iPhone and iPad announcement, you also get yawners like iTunes Genius, Ping and a yet-to-be-prime-time Apple TV.
Still, a partnership with the three leading book publishers and the critical mass achieved by the iPad give Apple as much of a chance as any to turn the page on the antiquated industry.
Stay tuned to Appolicious for extensive coverage and commentary on iBooks 2 as well as reviews of the new applications that will make it all work.
