Apple announces iBooks 2, a 'new textbook experience for the iPad'
By Laura Juneon January 19, 2012 10:08 am187Comments
Apple has just announced iBooks 2 for the iPad at its education event in New York City, calling them a "new textbook experience." The newly designed books are graphical, interactive, and make use of features like 3D imaging, embedded video, and multitouch gestures. The company seems to be taking cues from several applications which have been available for the iPad such as Frog Dissection and Solar System, both of which Apple called out at the event. They're also beefing up the notetaking functionality of the iPad, and the books will be available for purchase in the iBookstore directly. No news on content partnerships yet, which is unquestionably the biggest hurdle, but we have a feeling Apple has a few announcements to come in that area today.
By the time your high school adopts this, you will no longer be a teen. When you go to college and hopefully get to use this you will still have to pay the new college textbook premium cost with obviously no used book price discount or the option to resell it.
Knowledge… not copyrighted… How the knowledge is explained and organized in books (especially when training material and opinion) is included… copyrighted. Haven’t you ever seen the first 18 pages of any text book?
i’m in college, second semester. i’m hoping that in the next year when i plan to transfer out to 4-year college, this will have grown to real textbooks
Oh to be a teen again and to be able to pass notes electronically, update my facebook, or play games in class while the teacher thinks I’m looking at the text book.
So you’re saying that students will be required to buy their own iPad for school, like how we were required to buy graphing calculators? So, every student, despite their financial status, will have to shell out at least $500 for an iPad just to make sure they have the correct text book? Yeah, that’s not feasible unless you’re talking deep discounts.
That’s going to be $500 + price of the textbook. What I’m hearing from this event is iTunes U, FREE…today. Or, textbooks are $15… today. I want to know what it’s going to be down the road. Apple is already embroiled in price-fixing litigation over e-books. Do you think that publishers will continue to sell FULL DIGITAL textbooks for $15, indefinitely? That sounds like a future RENTAL price for textbooks. And I don’t know about you, if I’m paying for my textbooks, I want to keep them.
You know what I kind of like the Idea of renting a book, I remember when I was in college, there were books to courses that were absolutely useless after the course, and probably ended up being thrown out.
I would say that is true of the vast majority of my college textbooks. After 4 years of classes, I can think of 2 books that I bothered to keep, and those haven’t been opened since I finished the classes I bought them for.
Yeah, in college, where you’re required to take electives and such, you may not want to retain those books and renting makes a lot of sense. However, once you get into your core curriculum, concentration, subject matter, I don’t know about you, but I kept those books. In theology school now, and I’ve kept every single one of my text books because they’ll be an invaluable resource later. Renting is a good idea, but I don’t see how that’ll work long-term for Apple or publishers.
I never bought a single book when I was in college. Our campus had a rental system that was included in our tuition — so you just checked out the books you needed from the library and returned them after the course was over.
Really that’s how the current High-School textbook market works (and why the publishers are so willing to try a new model). Currently they sell a book once for $75 and it gets used for 5 years. With Apple’s model they sell a book 5 times for $15 over the course of 5 years, and they don’t have to pay the cost of materials, binding, shipping, etc.
“Do you think that publishers will continue to sell FULL DIGITAL textbooks for $15, indefinitely?”
“AllThingsD asked that question of McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw, and it turns out to have a simple answer. Schools will usually hold onto the paper versions of textbooks for about five years, meaning the publishers are only recouping about $15 per year anyway.”
“After Apple takes its 30 percent cut, publishers will only take $10.50 from a $15 textbook sale, but that’s $10.50 they can get from every student, every year, and without the heavy production and distribution costs associated with making and shipping the often giant-sized paper versions of textbooks.”
My mother works as an administrator at a very small (and poor) school district, but even they have been able to get iPads for the children to do a lot of work on. I think that this type of technology really will enable them to more quickly adopt and roll out solutions that are helpful. If a small school in a low income area is able to to provide iPads, I would expect this will roll out fairly quickly.
They’ve provided an iPad to every student that they can take home for study purposes? I doubt it. A handful of iPads in the classroom are not a replacement for textbooks.
What exactly do the kids do on the iPads? I could see it helping younger students with simple learning, but in high school you aren’t just going to sit in class and read a textbook on the iPad.
My wife works in an affluent school district, but in a school that serves low-income families. They can’t even get paper to make photocopies through the entire year. They don’t have iPads. They have barely one computer per classroom. I don’t think your one (or even my one) example is indicative of the reality. I wager it’s varied and eventually, the reality is that some students will do without while others benefit.
I suspect that Apple will be making available a ‘Student Edition’ iPad very soon. They already provide deep discounts on software for students, so I believe that will be their goal. I can’t imagine they haven’t thought of that issue.
Student edition? Doubtful. But when the iPad 3 is announced, the base model iPad 2 will still be available and probably drop down to $249-$299. Just like the way they continued to sell the iPhone 3GS and 4 when the $S shipped.
Going to be interesting to see the impact on the Kindle Fire and the cheap Android tablet market when they have to compete against THAT price.
1. Amazon already takes a slight loss on the $200 kindle, I doubt they can just slash the price in half and still justify it. They just flat out can’t produce / sell things on the economy of scale that Apple now can.
2. Not everyone likes Microsoft either — but in a school or business setting you take what you are given and you live with it.
Why would they sell the iPad3 and iPad2 at the exact same price? Nobody would buy the iPad2.
Apple does price cuts on the previous-gen iPod and iPhone whenever a new generation comes out. If Apple wants to put an iPad in the hand of every child on the planet then a price cut on outdated hardware is a great move.
I am just craving for an ePad thing.
iPad 3: 500 USD and above
iPad 2: 400 USD or maybe 300 USD
ePad: completely dumbed down version of the iPad 2, no cameras, 8GB, plastic made. Sold directly to the Department of Education and distributed to every teenager in high school for semester loans.
“They’re already destroying the competition at 500-830, why would they decrease their profit margin? "
The iPod mini, nano, and shuffle would care to differ. Apple understands that you’re better off cannibalizing your own sales than letting someone else do it.
I was fully expecting a drop in iPad prices for education. Or even free to all students. Hell, they could afford it – reckoning 44m children aged 6-17 in the US (childstats.gov), $499/iPad… $23bn. Although at their costs, no profit, you’re talking $12bn maybe?
That’s a decent thing to give up a bunch of cash for. And potentially make lots more long Apple fans… ;)
But in all seriousness, I do expect the iPad 2 to be basically given away like the iPhone 3GS is now. It’ll hit the $250-350 mark methinks, with the iPad 3 priced where the 2 is currently.
Are you not tired of saying this? As always with apple it’s the implementation that makes it special. No idea, no song is entirely new or original. get over it.
if it were not this way, why would the industry follow? Do you care to make a wager? I’ll glady bet that the education / textbook market gets a ton more attention now.
You show me any other company that has managed to gain any attention or traction in remaking/digitizing the textbook industry. Like it or not, there is likely no other company that can make things like this happen faster than Apple. Textbooks are overpriced, and the industry continuously screws people over year after year releasing new editions with nothing but minor punctuation changes rendering you $250 purchase worthless. They need someone like Apple to show them that they can profit in the digital world, just like the music industry needed iTunes to make them realize that their old business model had to change.
I thought Amazon and Barnes & Noble were doing a pretty decent job. As of right now, Apple has only shown a concept. We’ll see how well publishers adopt this new strategy when they stop receiving benefits and kickbacks from their binders.
As far as I can tell, though, Apple has made a huge mess of digitizing the textbook industry by building an ebook store that only works for Apple software on Apple hardware, yet also refuses to coexist with other ebook stores. They’re shooting for all kinds of exclusivity (like with iBook Author). They want to be the only ebook store.
On the other hand, their hardware and their software is aimed at a very specific type of person, and it is pretty well by design that it will never work for everyone.
These two things do not fit together. They will NEVER fit together. The only thing Apple is going to do is make it really, really hard for a lot of people to get ebooks. And they don’t care, because they’re making as much money as they want.
I like the idea a lot, but there are still 3 major problems….
1. Will textbook companites want to take the effort to write their books digitaly? (and add extra interactive content beyond the text version)
2. Will the digital versions be priced (nearly as) high as the physical versions?
3. Not available for Windows computers. Shure, Apple is compeiting with Microsoft, but that doesnt prevent them from offering iTunes on Windows. Apple would be leaving out a large number of students who could only afford cheap/used Windows laptops.
That has long been the case for a lot of edu software that was only available for windows and not for mac/linux. Was never a problem for a lot of people. Guess the world is changing.
I suppose the world is changing, in as much as Apple gearing a software exclusive on a platform that outperforms its own laptop series. It only makes sense to offer it on the iPad which is an easier buy for most people than a MacBook Air or Pro.
Lets just hope Apple eventually offer this on a more robust OS like OSX or Windows (and even Linix) so people can continue working beyond the iPad. If I’m writing a paper and I’ve taken the time to highlight and note take, I would like to be able to put that book side by side with the paper I’m writing all on one screen. It would seem cumbersome to plug in my iPad to my laptop and have to glance from screen to screen.
So, are they purporting that high school students need to buy their own textbooks? Or will they have some sort of bulk education discount? How do they regulate the use of iPad in the classroom. Do they block internet connectivity to non-school related sites and activities? Lastly, while text annotation is great, I remember the best thing about textbooks was being able to scribble in them, jot notes in the margins, work out equations in sketch… where’s that functionality? What if I just want to draw a note? How do students do that? And what about cross-platform compatibility? Not every student owns a Mac, you know!
I think in Apple’s going for high schools adopting the same model as many colleges have where the school actually issues you an iPad with your textbooks pre-loaded on it. They’ve been doing that with laptops in high schools for a while now (without the textbooks of course). That way they could also control browser functionality on the back end as well as enforce IT permissions. On the back-end, it’s pretty easy for school to control website access when you’re connected to their Wi-fi.
Schools in this area basically block out social media links, but you can browse pretty far reaching. As for handing out iPads to high school students, that’s a pretty pricey proposition. “The dog ate my textbook,” will take on a whole new meaning. As for colleges, what I understand is that they’re GIVING students iPads commensurate with their tuition. You’re basically paying for your iPad as you pay for tuition. I don’t see this happening anywhere in high school unless you’re attending a private institution.
Well before this announcement, I’ve talked with teachers, who sometimes bring up this idea of using tablets in the classroom. I’ve told them over and over that there is NO way for this to succeed until tablets hit a $99 per device price-point. You can come up with whatever outlying examples that you want of schools getting grants or charitable donations, but until every single school in America has access to tablets at $99 per device, this just won’t succeed. It simply costs too much.
Maybe instead of taking your time to complain about the cost here you should be writing you legislators in an attempt to make them realize that education has been underfunded for far to long. That their voting public demands our education institutions be taken more seriously since year after year the US fall further and further down the lists of world education.
What if (and it’s a BIG if), Apple follows their smartphone strategy and the iPad 1 sticks around after the iPad 3 introduction and get nearer to your magic $99 price. I concede it’s unlikely in 2012, but maybe 2013…
I don’t ten know if these books are compatible with the iPad 1 so this idea my have no legs at all.
Most teachers don’t create the books they have their students use. I’m not sure how that is a valid point. People who create books will just find a Mac as just another tool they need to get on to the iBook store with their textbooks, if they want to.
Why would the teachers need a Mac? The teachers aren’t creating textbooks, the publishers will, the teachers will be consuming them just like the students…
So, are they purporting that high school students need to buy their own textbooks?
I don’t think so. Although that may be a logical step in the future, right now it seems as though it’s voluntary. Apple hasn’t said anything (yet), about making this something “every” student will have, or “every” school needs. It’s simply a new concept of textbooks in a digital form. Where it goes from there, politically, socially, consumer-lly, is anyone’s guess.
You joke, but I don’t know how many students would plunk down $15 per textbook, per class, per year for four years when current, albeit out-of-date paper textbooks, are free. Ads is one way to reduce costs, even if it’s by 30% that’s substantial.
In addition, schools in MCPS (one of the best educational counties in the nation) can’t even afford paper to last the whole year, by our taxes, how are they going to provide iPads?
If a spelling book costs $200, a math book $500 and a social studies book $400… I’m sure the economics of a $500 iPad will work out for all 12 years of school. Yes, a single well-made device can operate for 12 years… look at the computers that are in many schools now.
Clearly this isn’t going to be an instant fix, and it will have to be worked out in each school system’s budget, but if you can’t see how this makes sense then I guess it doesn’t make much sense to explain it to you.
In university, I could easily spend over 400$ in textbooks every semester. I would have been happy to spend 15$ per textbook instead (assuming a high adoption rate in the future).
There’s the catch. High adoption rate. From what I heard today, it sounds like these are special deals to encourage adoption. Free… today. $15…today. What about tomorrow? Or 2-3 years down the road? Will it continue to be free? $15? More?
In most schools, there’s 7-8 periods. So 7-8GB worth of space? If you pay for those textbooks, you’d like to keep ‘em right? Are they cloud storable? For how long? Then if you take your account to college and continue to buy books, you’re talking 8 or more books a year, for four years. Are those storable in the cloud as well?
so if Apple is going on this post pc era mantra where everything is becoming digital, why not write digitally? People take notes while reading textbooks. You have this great hardware, great os and ecosystem yet they pull you out of it when you need to take notes. Something like the htc flyer would be wonderful with this. Flyer allows you to write or draw on anything on the screen. Apple will have to give up on the no stylus thing. It makes to much sense to do it now.
I think the days of the pen and/or digital stylus might be over. My 3 1/2 year old is already typing and although we’re going to teacher her how to use pencil, the likelihood is swipe, touch and type will be the norm. These products aren’t for you. heck they aren’t really for me. These are next gen products and apps that are for the next generation of students/users. Her daycare has scrapped all of their PC’s and purchased 12 iPads for their classes. The future is here and it looks like Apple is just pushing through.
Early onset carpal tunnel anyone? I fear for a future generation that is lost upon the written language. No longer will kids have the dexterity to write. This is the problem in schools today. Kids can’t write. Teenagers whose handwriting looks like they just graduated from the 3rd grade. Handwriting is indispensable. And if Apple is pushing that through, well, that’s just an unfortunate turn of events.
i actually disagree. Using your finger will never compare to writing. To me it feels like gross motor skills vs fine motor skills. Im currently using a stylus, though my profession is niche (animator), but what about math, and sciences? Ideas need to come out quick and i just dont see typing and swiping as a replacement. I think touch and stylus can coexist. We will see the difference this yr when Win 8 comes out. I personally cant wait to use a tablet with a wacom digitizer.
This is not to be rude or anything… but I would think it a remarkable deficiency on the part of the school if they neglected to teach their kids how to write, and on the parents if did not either supplement this experience, or so something to change the school.
My 3 year old often walks up to my laptop and tries to pinch/zoom the screen. When it doesn’t react, he says, “must be broken” – It’s this kind of natural user interface that is a huge leap. I can’t wait to see what the next evolution is.
I agree. And to the comment above, if your kid is already typing, be prepared for early onset of carpal tunnel. There’s a reason why other input methods may be beneficial. As I said in another comment below, some people don’t just text annotate. Some scribble, jot, sketch, DO MATH… you want to enter equations using a keyboard? How many times to you have to hit the ALT key to get to those symbols.
Its been a long time since I was in school but my Daughter is at Uni and has 10’s of books. It would be nice to replace them with one device but it would not be practical from a revision point, She has 3 or 4 books open at once, it would be very restrictive having to jump in and out of apps to display 1 page at a time.
I will also add that If Google made a program to build ebooks it would be free to every one on all platforms. Apples aim is nothing more than to add more money to its bank balance.
For consulting multiple sources at once, what I think they’ll eventually do is build a sync service such that you have the full interactive functionality only on the iPad version, but can at least view your materials on other devices. It’d be locked down Apple-style (ie., read-only, works only on other Apple devices), but it would be a killer feature to add to encourage adoption.
Apples aim is nothing more than to add more money to its bank balance.
Nothing more? Not even one tiny bit more? Well yes, they have investors, shareholders, they run a massive company, with thousands of employees; they better add more money to the bank balance. Its a … wait for it … business!
The $15 pricing is probably for grade school/high school textbooks, and loss-leader pricing at that (to boost adoption). I’m betting for colleges, eventually they will move to two tiers, subscription pricing and more expensive full sale. Many textbooks are useless after a semester and there is this fairly thriving market of second-hand books in colleges everywhere. With subscription the publisher makes money on every new student (as opposed to second-hand sales which only the bookshop will make any money on) while the students save money by not having to pay the cost of full ownership. Win-win. (Well actually the bookshops will lose out but brick-and-mortar retailers in all sectors are losing these days…)
The secondhand market is exactly the leverage Apple needed to get publishers on board (the same way the threat of piracy brought the music industry on board). Your subscription/full sale pricing model makes perfect sense and is actually exactly what I think Apple will do.
I might have missed it, but did they announce exclusivity deals with the textbook manufacturers? I saw the term, “partnership” but nothing about exclusivity. Maybe i’m naive.
It’s going to be exclusive in that it will be a long time before anything like this can be implemented in Google Books/Android Market for use on Android tablets etc., if ever. I guarantee that McGraw Hill, etc., are going to be ecstatic to work with Apple while Google has done little to mollify publishers since the whole book-scanning/Author’s Guild lawsuit thing (which I think is still ongoing!) There are no other players with the ability to build this kind of solution (unless Windows 8 is so magically amazing and works so well on tablets that consumers are basically demanding it). Apple will of course leverage all this to gain such widespread adoption that it is futile for any other players to move in later.
I much prefer pages to free-scrolling. Pages do away with my compulsion to scroll constantly. I’m glad that pages are coming back into fashion slightly, with eInk readers and apps like Flipboard.
Pages do give that security of “I’m seeing that I was intended to see” that is useful. And I do like Flipboard (although, I do find it ridiculous sometimes)
I just have the sense that Apple keeps anchoring its customers, let it be in an ecosystem, or an outdated apporach
Apple uses extensively skeuomorphs (computer interfaces that look like their real world counterparts) for only one reason : they create an emotional bond more easily.
Skeuomorphs often result in ridiculous interfaces (why is findmyfriend a leathery thing ? I don’t have a find my friend in my living room) and many designers think that the future is in interfaces that don’t use them at all.
I will probably take a lot of hate from ifanboys for that, but I really prefer what Google is doing with android 4 than iOS 5. It is far from perfect, but the direction given to Android is in my humble opinion really good.
Skeuomorphs just need to die, please.
And yes, they are mostly here for ‘tech impaired’ people.
Yeah, I agree. As a millennial, this irks me dearly.
Yet, what are the downsides to skeuomorphs: those with a great taste for design scoff. And what are upsides? Help countless of folks establish a connection with an estranged electronic device. Folks with $
This is great. But I doubt it’s going to happen in the next 10 years.
And what school is going to let teen-students use an angry birds/facebook machine with internet during class??
I play and text with my iPhone in class all of the time :P
There’s a good amount of people that use their laptops in class, I can imagine Universities pulling away from making us buy those heavy overpriced textbooks and making them available online.
I hope you understand that Universities turns a small profit from those bookstores. When students buy their one $500 iPad purchase and start buying their books from Apple, those bookstores cease to have as much value. The difference between semester after semester of 400-500 book purchases per student, being scaled down to almost nothing will eventually take it’s toll.
Students hoping to avoid loans buy working in Bookstores, will find that offer fairly scarce. Whatever percentage of profit the University used to receive from the Bookstore will need to be recouped from another area, like parking permits, student housing, or even tuition.
While very ideal, we should be a bit hesitant to what real-world fallout this could have.
I don’t have numbers to back this up, but I’m just going to guess that bookstore sales are a minuscule portion of the typical university revenue stream (ie., tuition, donations, grants). The publishers charge a lot of money for the books and I don’t think the universities are making much margin.
also how many people are employed in those bookshops? maybe 10-15 average per institution? And they have to find work elsewhere so hundreds of thousands of other students can save some $ on textbooks? Forgive me if I don’t shed a tear.
Fair enough.
I’m only cautioning this trend because we have yet to see if the positives will out weight the negatives. However minuscule the profit, its still a profit that goes back into the schools operating budget. This will still need to be accounted for in some fashion. It would be hard to believe a school will just throw their hands up and say, “oh well we really don’t need a bookstore anymore, and we really didn’t need that money anyhow.” http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions_of_a_community_college_dean/the_bookstore_conundrum
As for student workers, I could care less if you shed a tear, have a laugh or are completely indifferent to the situation. Bottom line, jobs are still hard to come by. If a student can work a few hours on campus while in school, that’s one more job someone else in the real world is holding on to while both are making money.
But if this proves to be something that is truly beneficial with minimal to none negative consequences, I will gladly apologize.
No need to apologize, even if we could somehow ascertain what the future holds :)
You’re right about the jobs. It is a shame when anyone loses a paying gig. I just think that whether those bookstores are merely breaking even or are massively lucrative, there’s pretty certainly a net gain to be had for many, many students and teachers out of all this, even if it means a few people get the short end of the stick.
“But if this proves to be something that is truly beneficial with minimal to none negative consequences.”
Change is change. Where were you when this whole internet thing started hitting the university? Schools are reducing staff in libraries and — in some cases — eliminating them in favor of “media centers.” What about all of the poor people who had jobs shelving books? Think of the librarians!
Look. It’s whether or not there’s any pain whatsoever. Change will always disrupt the status quo. It’s whether or not there’s a net benefit to the majority.
Besides, did you stop to consider that any job loss from bookstore staffing could potentially be made up in managing tablet rentals, in help desk staffing and repairs, in the additional people needed to help maintain the network infrastructure, and so on?
Sort of how the publishers already charge you $200 for a book and then another $100 for a semester of access to the online tools that professors require you use for assignments?
As a teacher, I think this is great, and definitely a step in the right direction. With the exception of SMART Boards, there is barely any tech integrated in our school systems to help students learn. We are somehow still expecting to educate our students the same way we did before the internet, but the gap between how we are trying to teach students and how they want to learn-is ever widening!
I do have major problems with this that many people have also identified though. The main one being iPad only! I get that Apple is trying to make money here, and justify the use of the iPad as a productivity tool, but what about the millions of impoverished students in under funded school systems who can’t afford to get a functioning computer lab of 20 terminals for the entire school, let alone an iPad for every student?
However, I hope these technologies become more ubiquitous, and I am looking forward to the future.
…And it does make me want to get an iPad a little more now…
The books sure look pretty, but there’s zero chance that my kids’ school district, which can’t afford to buy new textbooks every year as it is, will pony up $500 per student to buy each kid an iPad. Nor will they expect families to buy iPads when they buy pencils and paper.
If Apple wanted serious secondary ed buy-in on this, they should have used some of their billions in cash to supply hardware to schools.
Agreed wholeheartedly. Who knows, though. Maybe someone in the ranks will do something that isn’t entirely selfish. Afterall, Tim Cook did re-establish the company’s charitable giving program.
First off, I think you will see the iPad 2 offered at a steep discout alongside the iPad 3 (similar to iPhone 4/4s). Second, education institutions don’t pay retail price for these things. They get very reasonable discounts with contracts that usually include software and hardware support..
Regardless of the price, states and school districts aren’t appropriately distributing funds. Instead of buying iPads (even at wholesale value) schools should be building more classrooms, hiring more teachers, paying teachers more to help with this bottle-necking effect occurring currently at most schools. I’m sure a teacher would prefer a hands on approach to teaching 20-25 students without an iPad supplement than having 40+students glued to an iPad while they teach.
Now if you talking about getting them at a discounted rate that’s a whole other thing. It might be during the iPad 3 launch that the iPad2 becomes the a “student only tablet at a student only price”? The school year is half done so I don’t think things will ramp up until 2012/2013 school year
I really like it. However, I will like it better if it is multi-platform. What if I already have another OS tablet? I would not be inclined to buy another just so I can have this. Or worse yet be forced to buy one because the school or institution requires it. Unless they are like here its free, learn away.
Why on earth would Apple make it multiplatform? That’d be like Google making Gmail/Gdocs for iPhone decent… they’re not gonna do it, they need/want differentiators.
I think most people don’t realize that the big picture with this move is to get a whole new generation hooked on Apple products from a young age. If this gets enough penetration apple has almost guaranteed a whole group of young people already in the Apple ecosystem.
There are 187 Comments. Add yours.
Oh to be a teen again and not have to carry all those heavy textbooks!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:14 AM EST reply Recommend (12) Flag actions
I am a teen! I am so happy you honestly don’t know!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:20 AM EST via mobile reply Recommend (9) Flag actions
By the time your high school adopts this, you will no longer be a teen. When you go to college and hopefully get to use this you will still have to pay the new college textbook premium cost with obviously no used book price discount or the option to resell it.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:28 AM EST reply Recommend (22) Flag actions
selling used books is just as bad as piracy.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:30 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
so used car dealers are pirates?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:30 AM EST reply Recommend (18) Flag actions
no because the value of books is in the copyrighted material. Where cars are in physical materials put into the car
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:37 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Didn’t realize knowledge was copyrighted
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:39 AM EST reply Recommend (12) Flag actions
Knowledge… not copyrighted… How the knowledge is explained and organized in books (especially when training material and opinion) is included… copyrighted. Haven’t you ever seen the first 18 pages of any text book?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:56 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
http://www.amazon.com/Sell-Books-and-sell-textbooks/b/ref=amb_link_29730002_10?ie=UTF8&node=2233741011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-7&pf_rd_r=0BW3ZK2SE3TSB03MP9KZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1337359282&pf_rd_i=465600
Amazon seems to gets away with it somehow
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:10 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
It’s okay, they make up for it with edition changes.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:38 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Nobody is claiming a copyright on “knowledge”.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:59 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Holy fuck shit. This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen on The Verge. Ever.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:17 AM EST reply Recommend (16) Flag actions
YES!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:04 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
yo ho yo ho…a pirates life for me!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:01 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So is selling used music.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:31 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Copyright holders are engaged on long standing war against first sale doctrine. Nothing new here.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:33 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
No it is not.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:32 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
oh poor America…
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:50 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Elaborate. I’m curious to hear a foreigners perspective.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:01 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Away with you troll!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
i’m in college, second semester. i’m hoping that in the next year when i plan to transfer out to 4-year college, this will have grown to real textbooks
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:46 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It’s still going to cost less than the printed copy.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 4:07 PM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
I KNOW RIGHT
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:30 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I just hope they add in web-access and printing.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:30 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Oh to be a teen again and to be able to pass notes electronically, update my facebook, or play games in class while the teacher thinks I’m looking at the text book.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 9:51 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Hope they announce an iPad discount.
iPad2 for $250 (on the heels of iPad3) would destroy everybody.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:15 AM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
People would continue buying the iPad 2 (or whichever is the latest generation iPad) even if the price stayed the same.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:18 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So you’re saying that students will be required to buy their own iPad for school, like how we were required to buy graphing calculators? So, every student, despite their financial status, will have to shell out at least $500 for an iPad just to make sure they have the correct text book? Yeah, that’s not feasible unless you’re talking deep discounts.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:33 AM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
A $73 1GHZ ICS android tablet would be perfect, oh like the one just shown off at E3.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:42 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
CES, rather. I should stop reading two articles at once.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:53 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah, because those promised cheap android tablets have all proven to be so successful.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:46 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/12/ainovo-79-novo7-paladin-ice-cream-sandwich-tablet-hands-on/
This actually has the capability to be very successful in a classroom environment, quick, cheap, cheerful and covered in ICS.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:13 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Yes because those cheap Android tablets have been so successful.
Actually… because Android tablets have been so successful.
/sarcasm
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:52 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I have to spend $500+ every semester on my engineering textbooks. It would be nice to have to only make a $500 purchase once.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:51 AM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
That depends on how they price the textbooks. The publishers won’t want to give too much of a discount.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:20 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah it is more likely that the publishers will be greedy
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:32 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That’s going to be $500 + price of the textbook. What I’m hearing from this event is iTunes U, FREE…today. Or, textbooks are $15… today. I want to know what it’s going to be down the road. Apple is already embroiled in price-fixing litigation over e-books. Do you think that publishers will continue to sell FULL DIGITAL textbooks for $15, indefinitely? That sounds like a future RENTAL price for textbooks. And I don’t know about you, if I’m paying for my textbooks, I want to keep them.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:34 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You know what I kind of like the Idea of renting a book, I remember when I was in college, there were books to courses that were absolutely useless after the course, and probably ended up being thrown out.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:47 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I would say that is true of the vast majority of my college textbooks. After 4 years of classes, I can think of 2 books that I bothered to keep, and those haven’t been opened since I finished the classes I bought them for.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:48 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Yeah, in college, where you’re required to take electives and such, you may not want to retain those books and renting makes a lot of sense. However, once you get into your core curriculum, concentration, subject matter, I don’t know about you, but I kept those books. In theology school now, and I’ve kept every single one of my text books because they’ll be an invaluable resource later. Renting is a good idea, but I don’t see how that’ll work long-term for Apple or publishers.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:54 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I never bought a single book when I was in college. Our campus had a rental system that was included in our tuition — so you just checked out the books you needed from the library and returned them after the course was over.
Really that’s how the current High-School textbook market works (and why the publishers are so willing to try a new model). Currently they sell a book once for $75 and it gets used for 5 years. With Apple’s model they sell a book 5 times for $15 over the course of 5 years, and they don’t have to pay the cost of materials, binding, shipping, etc.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 11:30 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“Do you think that publishers will continue to sell FULL DIGITAL textbooks for $15, indefinitely?”
“AllThingsD asked that question of McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw, and it turns out to have a simple answer. Schools will usually hold onto the paper versions of textbooks for about five years, meaning the publishers are only recouping about $15 per year anyway.”
“After Apple takes its 30 percent cut, publishers will only take $10.50 from a $15 textbook sale, but that’s $10.50 they can get from every student, every year, and without the heavy production and distribution costs associated with making and shipping the often giant-sized paper versions of textbooks.”
So, according to this… yes.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 8:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
My mother works as an administrator at a very small (and poor) school district, but even they have been able to get iPads for the children to do a lot of work on. I think that this type of technology really will enable them to more quickly adopt and roll out solutions that are helpful. If a small school in a low income area is able to to provide iPads, I would expect this will roll out fairly quickly.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:08 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
They’ve provided an iPad to every student that they can take home for study purposes? I doubt it. A handful of iPads in the classroom are not a replacement for textbooks.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:14 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
What exactly do the kids do on the iPads? I could see it helping younger students with simple learning, but in high school you aren’t just going to sit in class and read a textbook on the iPad.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:23 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
My wife works in an affluent school district, but in a school that serves low-income families. They can’t even get paper to make photocopies through the entire year. They don’t have iPads. They have barely one computer per classroom. I don’t think your one (or even my one) example is indicative of the reality. I wager it’s varied and eventually, the reality is that some students will do without while others benefit.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:36 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You never finished high school did you?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:10 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I suspect that Apple will be making available a ‘Student Edition’ iPad very soon. They already provide deep discounts on software for students, so I believe that will be their goal. I can’t imagine they haven’t thought of that issue.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:14 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Student edition? Doubtful. But when the iPad 3 is announced, the base model iPad 2 will still be available and probably drop down to $249-$299. Just like the way they continued to sell the iPhone 3GS and 4 when the $S shipped.
Going to be interesting to see the impact on the Kindle Fire and the cheap Android tablet market when they have to compete against THAT price.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 3:30 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Probably just fine.
1. when iPads are $250, kindles and cheapo android tabs will be $99
2. not everyone likes apple.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:39 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
1. Amazon already takes a slight loss on the $200 kindle, I doubt they can just slash the price in half and still justify it. They just flat out can’t produce / sell things on the economy of scale that Apple now can.
2. Not everyone likes Microsoft either — but in a school or business setting you take what you are given and you live with it.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 11:37 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
then again, this is apple we’re talking about… :)
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:19 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
They’re already destroying the competition at 500-830, why would they decrease their profit margin? How do you just make stuff up like this?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:19 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Why would they sell the iPad3 and iPad2 at the exact same price? Nobody would buy the iPad2.
Apple does price cuts on the previous-gen iPod and iPhone whenever a new generation comes out. If Apple wants to put an iPad in the hand of every child on the planet then a price cut on outdated hardware is a great move.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:23 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I am just craving for an ePad thing.
iPad 3: 500 USD and above
iPad 2: 400 USD or maybe 300 USD
ePad: completely dumbed down version of the iPad 2, no cameras, 8GB, plastic made. Sold directly to the Department of Education and distributed to every teenager in high school for semester loans.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:22 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
what if they called it emate 2000?
:D
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
how do you dumb down an ipad?
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:46 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“They’re already destroying the competition at 500-830, why would they decrease their profit margin? "
The iPod mini, nano, and shuffle would care to differ. Apple understands that you’re better off cannibalizing your own sales than letting someone else do it.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 3:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Sometimes to sell more units, you price more aggressively.
See: Amazon Kindle Fire, in addition to your Apple examples.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:50 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Including Apple, as they’d be losing money.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:19 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I was fully expecting a drop in iPad prices for education. Or even free to all students. Hell, they could afford it – reckoning 44m children aged 6-17 in the US (childstats.gov), $499/iPad… $23bn. Although at their costs, no profit, you’re talking $12bn maybe?
That’s a decent thing to give up a bunch of cash for. And potentially make lots more long Apple fans… ;)
But in all seriousness, I do expect the iPad 2 to be basically given away like the iPhone 3GS is now. It’ll hit the $250-350 mark methinks, with the iPad 3 priced where the 2 is currently.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:49 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
they gave 9k of them away last year to underfunded schools.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:50 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
DO WANT.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:18 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Apple innovating in textbooks is wonderful. Still nothing beats learning math problems out of a huge math book, THAT takes skill.
Carry the one.. “ohh look its animated!”
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:21 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
“Reinventing the textbook” by shoving HTML5 stuff in a proprietary format, and the app also records user-generated data.
That’s their revolution? Big whoop.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:28 AM EST reply Recommend (11) Flag actions
Oh, and wikipedia-style term linking.
Basically, they made iWikipedia.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:29 AM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
didnt you hear? whatever apple makes is innovative no matter what! its the rules! /sarcasm
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:07 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Are you not tired of saying this? As always with apple it’s the implementation that makes it special. No idea, no song is entirely new or original. get over it.
if it were not this way, why would the industry follow? Do you care to make a wager? I’ll glady bet that the education / textbook market gets a ton more attention now.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:53 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
If it catches on, it is a big whoop. I don’t think anyone’s claiming this concept as new.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:44 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
You show me any other company that has managed to gain any attention or traction in remaking/digitizing the textbook industry. Like it or not, there is likely no other company that can make things like this happen faster than Apple. Textbooks are overpriced, and the industry continuously screws people over year after year releasing new editions with nothing but minor punctuation changes rendering you $250 purchase worthless. They need someone like Apple to show them that they can profit in the digital world, just like the music industry needed iTunes to make them realize that their old business model had to change.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:53 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
I thought Amazon and Barnes & Noble were doing a pretty decent job. As of right now, Apple has only shown a concept. We’ll see how well publishers adopt this new strategy when they stop receiving benefits and kickbacks from their binders.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:25 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
As far as I can tell, though, Apple has made a huge mess of digitizing the textbook industry by building an ebook store that only works for Apple software on Apple hardware, yet also refuses to coexist with other ebook stores. They’re shooting for all kinds of exclusivity (like with iBook Author). They want to be the only ebook store.
On the other hand, their hardware and their software is aimed at a very specific type of person, and it is pretty well by design that it will never work for everyone.
These two things do not fit together. They will NEVER fit together. The only thing Apple is going to do is make it really, really hard for a lot of people to get ebooks. And they don’t care, because they’re making as much money as they want.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:34 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
the music industry HATES the itunes model. Profits are down big time. you should read more.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:48 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“and the app also records user-generated data.” source?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:54 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
iPod? Only 5 GB. No WiFi. Lame.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:57 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Oh? Have bigger ideas? Your remark is a red herring, at best.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:34 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I like the idea a lot, but there are still 3 major problems….
1. Will textbook companites want to take the effort to write their books digitaly? (and add extra interactive content beyond the text version)
2. Will the digital versions be priced (nearly as) high as the physical versions?
3. Not available for Windows computers. Shure, Apple is compeiting with Microsoft, but that doesnt prevent them from offering iTunes on Windows. Apple would be leaving out a large number of students who could only afford cheap/used Windows laptops.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:29 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
iBooks 2 is for iPad, not for Mac OS or Windows. The iBook Author is Mac only (as far as I know), but it doesn’t matter for students.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:07 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
That has long been the case for a lot of edu software that was only available for windows and not for mac/linux. Was never a problem for a lot of people. Guess the world is changing.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:36 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I suppose the world is changing, in as much as Apple gearing a software exclusive on a platform that outperforms its own laptop series. It only makes sense to offer it on the iPad which is an easier buy for most people than a MacBook Air or Pro.
Lets just hope Apple eventually offer this on a more robust OS like OSX or Windows (and even Linix) so people can continue working beyond the iPad. If I’m writing a paper and I’ve taken the time to highlight and note take, I would like to be able to put that book side by side with the paper I’m writing all on one screen. It would seem cumbersome to plug in my iPad to my laptop and have to glance from screen to screen.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:36 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“It would seem cumbersome to plug in my iPad….”
Automatic syncing via iCloud. No plugs required.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 3:41 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“synching” isnt very cloud like.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:49 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Um, they already are writing their books digitally. Then…to the printing press!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So, are they purporting that high school students need to buy their own textbooks? Or will they have some sort of bulk education discount? How do they regulate the use of iPad in the classroom. Do they block internet connectivity to non-school related sites and activities? Lastly, while text annotation is great, I remember the best thing about textbooks was being able to scribble in them, jot notes in the margins, work out equations in sketch… where’s that functionality? What if I just want to draw a note? How do students do that? And what about cross-platform compatibility? Not every student owns a Mac, you know!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:30 AM EST reply Recommend (6) Flag actions
Dont worry about that. Your main focus while in school is to look as cool as possible.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:38 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
I think in Apple’s going for high schools adopting the same model as many colleges have where the school actually issues you an iPad with your textbooks pre-loaded on it. They’ve been doing that with laptops in high schools for a while now (without the textbooks of course). That way they could also control browser functionality on the back end as well as enforce IT permissions. On the back-end, it’s pretty easy for school to control website access when you’re connected to their Wi-fi.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:42 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Schools in this area basically block out social media links, but you can browse pretty far reaching. As for handing out iPads to high school students, that’s a pretty pricey proposition. “The dog ate my textbook,” will take on a whole new meaning. As for colleges, what I understand is that they’re GIVING students iPads commensurate with their tuition. You’re basically paying for your iPad as you pay for tuition. I don’t see this happening anywhere in high school unless you’re attending a private institution.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:52 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well before this announcement, I’ve talked with teachers, who sometimes bring up this idea of using tablets in the classroom. I’ve told them over and over that there is NO way for this to succeed until tablets hit a $99 per device price-point. You can come up with whatever outlying examples that you want of schools getting grants or charitable donations, but until every single school in America has access to tablets at $99 per device, this just won’t succeed. It simply costs too much.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:37 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Maybe instead of taking your time to complain about the cost here you should be writing you legislators in an attempt to make them realize that education has been underfunded for far to long. That their voting public demands our education institutions be taken more seriously since year after year the US fall further and further down the lists of world education.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:57 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yes, because throwing money at the problem ALWAYS fixes it, right?
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 10:21 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
What if (and it’s a BIG if), Apple follows their smartphone strategy and the iPad 1 sticks around after the iPad 3 introduction and get nearer to your magic $99 price. I concede it’s unlikely in 2012, but maybe 2013…
I don’t ten know if these books are compatible with the iPad 1 so this idea my have no legs at all.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:21 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Have you looked at the price of textbooks lately? How are they affording those right now?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:59 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Why would the students need a Mac? That is just for the Book creator…the students will be consuming the books..not creating them.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:55 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Granted, not every teacher will have access to a Mac from home. I mean this argument is still valid no matter what.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:57 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Most teachers don’t create the books they have their students use. I’m not sure how that is a valid point. People who create books will just find a Mac as just another tool they need to get on to the iBook store with their textbooks, if they want to.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:08 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Why would the teachers need a Mac? The teachers aren’t creating textbooks, the publishers will, the teachers will be consuming them just like the students…
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:26 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t think so. Although that may be a logical step in the future, right now it seems as though it’s voluntary. Apple hasn’t said anything (yet), about making this something “every” student will have, or “every” school needs. It’s simply a new concept of textbooks in a digital form. Where it goes from there, politically, socially, consumer-lly, is anyone’s guess.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:44 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well, look at that. Google and Page just announced their own education event for next week. gBooks – now with ADS!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:32 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
You joke, but I don’t know how many students would plunk down $15 per textbook, per class, per year for four years when current, albeit out-of-date paper textbooks, are free. Ads is one way to reduce costs, even if it’s by 30% that’s substantial.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:35 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Not joking.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:40 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Never seen a free textbook. Even if you’re talking about Public High School… you pay for it in your taxes… the school doesn’t get them for free.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:00 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Okay, so will they provide students with iPads because we pay for them in our taxes? Dream on.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:21 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
In addition, schools in MCPS (one of the best educational counties in the nation) can’t even afford paper to last the whole year, by our taxes, how are they going to provide iPads?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:22 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
If a spelling book costs $200, a math book $500 and a social studies book $400… I’m sure the economics of a $500 iPad will work out for all 12 years of school. Yes, a single well-made device can operate for 12 years… look at the computers that are in many schools now.
Clearly this isn’t going to be an instant fix, and it will have to be worked out in each school system’s budget, but if you can’t see how this makes sense then I guess it doesn’t make much sense to explain it to you.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:04 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
In university, I could easily spend over 400$ in textbooks every semester. I would have been happy to spend 15$ per textbook instead (assuming a high adoption rate in the future).
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:10 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
There’s the catch. High adoption rate. From what I heard today, it sounds like these are special deals to encourage adoption. Free… today. $15…today. What about tomorrow? Or 2-3 years down the road? Will it continue to be free? $15? More?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:23 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It might be higher, it might not. So what? I would pay a 10% premium or more for better organized and easily searchable textbooks.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:06 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That $15 price on applies to high school books. That’s how I understood it anyways.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:28 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Free texts books?! I wish. They’re rather expensive at times. More expensive than $15 new, that’s for sure.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Damn I just noticed that the Biology text book they showed off was 918 MB .. !!
iPads come in 16 GB and 32 GB.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:36 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
How many text books does one need at one time?
Roughly 1GB per textbook
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:12 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
In most schools, there’s 7-8 periods. So 7-8GB worth of space? If you pay for those textbooks, you’d like to keep ‘em right? Are they cloud storable? For how long? Then if you take your account to college and continue to buy books, you’re talking 8 or more books a year, for four years. Are those storable in the cloud as well?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:25 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Maybe a thunderbolt connection on an ipad 3 will make taking books on and off a breeze. The data for notes and stuff on icloud.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:07 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Apple already announced iCloud support for downloading books and for syncing notes across devices.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 3:48 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
How strange. I’m using what must be a mythical 64GB one then… ;)
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:44 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Call me crazy but Apple keeps going on this anti-stylus thing, doesnt this just scream stylus to anyone else???
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:38 AM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
No.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:03 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
so if Apple is going on this post pc era mantra where everything is becoming digital, why not write digitally? People take notes while reading textbooks. You have this great hardware, great os and ecosystem yet they pull you out of it when you need to take notes. Something like the htc flyer would be wonderful with this. Flyer allows you to write or draw on anything on the screen. Apple will have to give up on the no stylus thing. It makes to much sense to do it now.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:15 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I think the days of the pen and/or digital stylus might be over. My 3 1/2 year old is already typing and although we’re going to teacher her how to use pencil, the likelihood is swipe, touch and type will be the norm. These products aren’t for you. heck they aren’t really for me. These are next gen products and apps that are for the next generation of students/users. Her daycare has scrapped all of their PC’s and purchased 12 iPads for their classes. The future is here and it looks like Apple is just pushing through.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:24 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Early onset carpal tunnel anyone? I fear for a future generation that is lost upon the written language. No longer will kids have the dexterity to write. This is the problem in schools today. Kids can’t write. Teenagers whose handwriting looks like they just graduated from the 3rd grade. Handwriting is indispensable. And if Apple is pushing that through, well, that’s just an unfortunate turn of events.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:30 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
i actually disagree. Using your finger will never compare to writing. To me it feels like gross motor skills vs fine motor skills. Im currently using a stylus, though my profession is niche (animator), but what about math, and sciences? Ideas need to come out quick and i just dont see typing and swiping as a replacement. I think touch and stylus can coexist. We will see the difference this yr when Win 8 comes out. I personally cant wait to use a tablet with a wacom digitizer.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:36 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is not to be rude or anything… but I would think it a remarkable deficiency on the part of the school if they neglected to teach their kids how to write, and on the parents if did not either supplement this experience, or so something to change the school.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:09 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
My 3 year old often walks up to my laptop and tries to pinch/zoom the screen. When it doesn’t react, he says, “must be broken” – It’s this kind of natural user interface that is a huge leap. I can’t wait to see what the next evolution is.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 5:09 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I agree. And to the comment above, if your kid is already typing, be prepared for early onset of carpal tunnel. There’s a reason why other input methods may be beneficial. As I said in another comment below, some people don’t just text annotate. Some scribble, jot, sketch, DO MATH… you want to enter equations using a keyboard? How many times to you have to hit the ALT key to get to those symbols.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:27 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
yes. with killer palm rejection. apple will make it happen or fall behind like notifications and multitouch.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:05 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
“or fall behind like notifications and multitouch.”
Apple fell behind in multitouch how exactly? Show me better.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:57 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
yes, I like to write in the margins of my textbook. The tactile nature of doing so also helps me retain and absorb ideas more effectively.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:05 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Its been a long time since I was in school but my Daughter is at Uni and has 10’s of books. It would be nice to replace them with one device but it would not be practical from a revision point, She has 3 or 4 books open at once, it would be very restrictive having to jump in and out of apps to display 1 page at a time.
I will also add that If Google made a program to build ebooks it would be free to every one on all platforms. Apples aim is nothing more than to add more money to its bank balance.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:40 AM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Oh yes, Google hates making money. Everything they do is purely for the good of humanity.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:09 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
You are aware Google make ad money on everything they do right?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:57 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Google sells your privacy. It’s a matter of opinion whether that is better or worse.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
For consulting multiple sources at once, what I think they’ll eventually do is build a sync service such that you have the full interactive functionality only on the iPad version, but can at least view your materials on other devices. It’d be locked down Apple-style (ie., read-only, works only on other Apple devices), but it would be a killer feature to add to encourage adoption.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:43 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Nothing more? Not even one tiny bit more? Well yes, they have investors, shareholders, they run a massive company, with thousands of employees; they better add more money to the bank balance. Its a … wait for it … business!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:49 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Do you think you keep them indefintly or if it’s a subscription model?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:40 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This was my question. I can’t believe textbook publishers would drop their prices this much.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:05 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The $15 pricing is probably for grade school/high school textbooks, and loss-leader pricing at that (to boost adoption). I’m betting for colleges, eventually they will move to two tiers, subscription pricing and more expensive full sale. Many textbooks are useless after a semester and there is this fairly thriving market of second-hand books in colleges everywhere. With subscription the publisher makes money on every new student (as opposed to second-hand sales which only the bookshop will make any money on) while the students save money by not having to pay the cost of full ownership. Win-win. (Well actually the bookshops will lose out but brick-and-mortar retailers in all sectors are losing these days…)
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The secondhand market is exactly the leverage Apple needed to get publishers on board (the same way the threat of piracy brought the music industry on board). Your subscription/full sale pricing model makes perfect sense and is actually exactly what I think Apple will do.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 8:58 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Finally!! I always dreamed of the day we would have textbooks with multi-touch gestures!!!
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:49 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It is never too early to vendor lock your kids.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:49 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
I might have missed it, but did they announce exclusivity deals with the textbook manufacturers? I saw the term, “partnership” but nothing about exclusivity. Maybe i’m naive.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:03 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
It’s going to be exclusive in that it will be a long time before anything like this can be implemented in Google Books/Android Market for use on Android tablets etc., if ever. I guarantee that McGraw Hill, etc., are going to be ecstatic to work with Apple while Google has done little to mollify publishers since the whole book-scanning/Author’s Guild lawsuit thing (which I think is still ongoing!) There are no other players with the ability to build this kind of solution (unless Windows 8 is so magically amazing and works so well on tablets that consumers are basically demanding it). Apple will of course leverage all this to gain such widespread adoption that it is futile for any other players to move in later.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:06 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Would you complain if they were learning to use Microsoft Office? I sure hope so, because otherwise you’d be a hypocrite.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:03 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
This iBooks 2 UI is garish, hate the novelty “ooh, it looks like a binder!” thing the got going on. Why does it have to emulate old media??
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:51 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Because its the new media. It can do whatever the fuck it wants.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:54 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
I think it’s an opportunity to free ourselves of old concepts. Why does it need pages? Why does iCal frikkin needs pages?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:55 AM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
I much prefer pages to free-scrolling. Pages do away with my compulsion to scroll constantly. I’m glad that pages are coming back into fashion slightly, with eInk readers and apps like Flipboard.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:06 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Pages do give that security of “I’m seeing that I was intended to see” that is useful. And I do like Flipboard (although, I do find it ridiculous sometimes)
I just have the sense that Apple keeps anchoring its customers, let it be in an ecosystem, or an outdated apporach
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:13 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Just click a preference in iBooks and choose “Full Screen” mode. All of the “chrome” disappears.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 4:05 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Apple uses extensively skeuomorphs (computer interfaces that look like their real world counterparts) for only one reason : they create an emotional bond more easily.
Skeuomorphs often result in ridiculous interfaces (why is findmyfriend a leathery thing ? I don’t have a find my friend in my living room) and many designers think that the future is in interfaces that don’t use them at all.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:59 AM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
Thanks for the nomenclature, didn’t know what it was called :)
I would agree with such designers, I really feel they do all their devices for tech impaired oldies (news flash, I know)
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:07 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I will probably take a lot of hate from ifanboys for that, but I really prefer what Google is doing with android 4 than iOS 5. It is far from perfect, but the direction given to Android is in my humble opinion really good.
Skeuomorphs just need to die, please.
And yes, they are mostly here for ‘tech impaired’ people.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:01 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
You preferAndroid 4’s touch input lag, microstuttering, garbage collection, excessive battery drain (both standby and active), and disgustingly inefficient resource usage?
Why…?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 9:01 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah, I agree. As a millennial, this irks me dearly.
Yet, what are the downsides to skeuomorphs: those with a great taste for design scoff. And what are upsides? Help countless of folks establish a connection with an estranged electronic device. Folks with $
So yeah. I’m on to you apple
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:55 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is great. But I doubt it’s going to happen in the next 10 years.
And what school is going to let teen-students use an angry birds/facebook machine with internet during class??
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 10:57 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I play and text with my iPhone in class all of the time :P
There’s a good amount of people that use their laptops in class, I can imagine Universities pulling away from making us buy those heavy overpriced textbooks and making them available online.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:04 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I hope you understand that Universities turns a small profit from those bookstores. When students buy their one $500 iPad purchase and start buying their books from Apple, those bookstores cease to have as much value. The difference between semester after semester of 400-500 book purchases per student, being scaled down to almost nothing will eventually take it’s toll.
Students hoping to avoid loans buy working in Bookstores, will find that offer fairly scarce. Whatever percentage of profit the University used to receive from the Bookstore will need to be recouped from another area, like parking permits, student housing, or even tuition.
While very ideal, we should be a bit hesitant to what real-world fallout this could have.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:56 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I don’t have numbers to back this up, but I’m just going to guess that bookstore sales are a minuscule portion of the typical university revenue stream (ie., tuition, donations, grants). The publishers charge a lot of money for the books and I don’t think the universities are making much margin.
also how many people are employed in those bookshops? maybe 10-15 average per institution? And they have to find work elsewhere so hundreds of thousands of other students can save some $ on textbooks? Forgive me if I don’t shed a tear.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:13 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Fair enough.
I’m only cautioning this trend because we have yet to see if the positives will out weight the negatives. However minuscule the profit, its still a profit that goes back into the schools operating budget. This will still need to be accounted for in some fashion. It would be hard to believe a school will just throw their hands up and say, “oh well we really don’t need a bookstore anymore, and we really didn’t need that money anyhow.”
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions_of_a_community_college_dean/the_bookstore_conundrum
As for student workers, I could care less if you shed a tear, have a laugh or are completely indifferent to the situation. Bottom line, jobs are still hard to come by. If a student can work a few hours on campus while in school, that’s one more job someone else in the real world is holding on to while both are making money.
But if this proves to be something that is truly beneficial with minimal to none negative consequences, I will gladly apologize.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:47 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
No need to apologize, even if we could somehow ascertain what the future holds :)
You’re right about the jobs. It is a shame when anyone loses a paying gig. I just think that whether those bookstores are merely breaking even or are massively lucrative, there’s pretty certainly a net gain to be had for many, many students and teachers out of all this, even if it means a few people get the short end of the stick.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 3:28 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
“But if this proves to be something that is truly beneficial with minimal to none negative consequences.”
Change is change. Where were you when this whole internet thing started hitting the university? Schools are reducing staff in libraries and — in some cases — eliminating them in favor of “media centers.” What about all of the poor people who had jobs shelving books? Think of the librarians!
Look. It’s whether or not there’s any pain whatsoever. Change will always disrupt the status quo. It’s whether or not there’s a net benefit to the majority.
Besides, did you stop to consider that any job loss from bookstore staffing could potentially be made up in managing tablet rentals, in help desk staffing and repairs, in the additional people needed to help maintain the network infrastructure, and so on?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 4:22 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
You can put restrictions on what the user can do with the device.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:58 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I hope you guys slapped the dude that was holding up his tablet in front of you guys taking pictures/video.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:01 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Adding interactivity to a ‘book’ where animations & movies play amongst other things like linking to other content?
Sounds like another way to parcel content that’s freely available on the web and hide it behind a premium product which Apple can sell you
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:08 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Which the content providers sell you, not Apple.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:59 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Sort of how the publishers already charge you $200 for a book and then another $100 for a semester of access to the online tools that professors require you use for assignments?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:00 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
As a teacher, I think this is great, and definitely a step in the right direction. With the exception of SMART Boards, there is barely any tech integrated in our school systems to help students learn. We are somehow still expecting to educate our students the same way we did before the internet, but the gap between how we are trying to teach students and how they want to learn-is ever widening!
I do have major problems with this that many people have also identified though. The main one being iPad only! I get that Apple is trying to make money here, and justify the use of the iPad as a productivity tool, but what about the millions of impoverished students in under funded school systems who can’t afford to get a functioning computer lab of 20 terminals for the entire school, let alone an iPad for every student?
However, I hope these technologies become more ubiquitous, and I am looking forward to the future.
…And it does make me want to get an iPad a little more now…
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:11 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The books sure look pretty, but there’s zero chance that my kids’ school district, which can’t afford to buy new textbooks every year as it is, will pony up $500 per student to buy each kid an iPad. Nor will they expect families to buy iPads when they buy pencils and paper.
If Apple wanted serious secondary ed buy-in on this, they should have used some of their billions in cash to supply hardware to schools.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:12 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Agreed wholeheartedly. Who knows, though. Maybe someone in the ranks will do something that isn’t entirely selfish. Afterall, Tim Cook did re-establish the company’s charitable giving program.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:20 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
First off, I think you will see the iPad 2 offered at a steep discout alongside the iPad 3 (similar to iPhone 4/4s). Second, education institutions don’t pay retail price for these things. They get very reasonable discounts with contracts that usually include software and hardware support..
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Regardless of the price, states and school districts aren’t appropriately distributing funds. Instead of buying iPads (even at wholesale value) schools should be building more classrooms, hiring more teachers, paying teachers more to help with this bottle-necking effect occurring currently at most schools. I’m sure a teacher would prefer a hands on approach to teaching 20-25 students without an iPad supplement than having 40+students glued to an iPad while they teach.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:12 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
And just like that the event ends without any information in sight about how students can get iPads easily.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:19 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad
pretty easy?
Now if you talking about getting them at a discounted rate that’s a whole other thing. It might be during the iPad 3 launch that the iPad2 becomes the a “student only tablet at a student only price”? The school year is half done so I don’t think things will ramp up until 2012/2013 school year
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:30 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I really like it. However, I will like it better if it is multi-platform. What if I already have another OS tablet? I would not be inclined to buy another just so I can have this. Or worse yet be forced to buy one because the school or institution requires it. Unless they are like here its free, learn away.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:44 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Why on earth would Apple make it multiplatform? That’d be like Google making Gmail/Gdocs for iPhone decent… they’re not gonna do it, they need/want differentiators.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:00 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Is there anything stopping someone like the Khan Academy from publishing a book on this?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 11:48 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
writing a book.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:33 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Where was this when I was in school!!!!! This is better I think because I rather pay $15 than more than $100. I like were this is heading.
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 12:04 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Will it be available on my macbook pro ? or is it exclusively optimized for ipad ?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 1:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Great stuff.
When will iBooks content be something outside of the USA?
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 2:01 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
So I’m assuming that iBooks was not released for the Mac. Apple is always good for at least one inexcusable oversight…
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 3:45 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
any apple tag really brings the comments….. guilty
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 | 9:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Cool iBooks2!! Because iBooks was such a smashing success.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:33 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Big Problem with this. 70% of college professors refuse to let people use electronic devices during a class.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:36 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
I think most people don’t realize that the big picture with this move is to get a whole new generation hooked on Apple products from a young age. If this gets enough penetration apple has almost guaranteed a whole group of young people already in the Apple ecosystem.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 9:07 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
iNdocrination
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 8:59 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
damnit! that should read iNdoctrination (Fail!)
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 9:01 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Multipurpose, much lighter, much easier to carry, much easier to store, much easier to steal, much easier to resell. Thieves will love it!
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 9:08 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Something to say? Choose one of these options to log in.