Apple aims to reinvent textbooks with iBooks 2 and iBooks Author

Apple has released iBooks 2 for iPad with textbooks that include interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos and more. iBooks 2.0 for iPad was demonstrated at today’s event showcasing textbooks with videos, images, interactive captions, interactive 3D objects, study cards, and much more.

There is now a textbook section in the iBookstore where textbooks can be purchased at $14.99 or less. There is currently a limited number of textbooks available but the number of textbooks should increase substantially since Apple has deals with a series of publishers and they released iBooks Author which is free Mac software for creating iBooks.

Here’s a list of features added with iBooks 2.0.

• Experience gorgeous Multi-Touch textbooks designed for iPad
• iBooks textbooks are filled with interactive features, diagrams, photos, and videos
• Tap to dive into images with interactive captions, rotate 3D objects, swipe through image galleries, watch videos in full screen, and more
• Use a finger as a highlighter when swiping over text in a textbook
• Take advantage of Study Cards to help you memorize important highlights, notes, and glossary terms
• Tap glossary terms to see definitions of key topics and concepts without leaving the page

iBooks Author

iBooks Author is a free Mac app that will allow anyone to create textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad. The app comes with several templates and different layouts. You can add your own text and images by simply dragging and dropping the content in place. Multi-Touch widgets can be used to include interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, 3D objects, and more.

After the book is complete you can export it to the iBookstore or iTunes U. If it is a paid book, Apple will get their standard 30% cut.

Originally posted 2012-01-19 22:14:36.