Apple launch iBooks 2: Digital textbooks hit the iPad
Apple have launched iBooks 2, a new version of their eBook reading app for iOS devices that adds extra features specifically for textbooks and education purposes, described by Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller as “a new textbook experience for iPad.”
“We try to bring the same energy and passion we’ve put into every product we make into our education business as well,” he said at the product’s unveiling at the Guggenheim Museum in New York today.
“There’s something really profound starting to happen, it’s remarkable. We’re seeing that, as students are introduced to iPad, remarkable things are happening.”
Among iBooks 2’s new features is the ability to browse real-time glossary definitions, embed 3D animated models into books, and enhanced interactive gallery features, all of which would be welcome in specialist medical fields, for instance.
iBooks 2 also allows users to take in-app notes with the “My Notes” feature, as well as linking directly to the iBooks store to keep Apple’s coffers full of your money.
Those looking to create their own iBooks tomes also get new software. iBooks Author for OSX also launches today, letting anyone create textbooks and eBooks.
iBooks 2 will hit the App Store now and is free. The books themselves, obviously, are not. Likewise, iBooks Author is now available on the Mac App Store, and is also free.
