Judging from our friendly version picker for the new iBooks book, free book creation tool called iBooks, writer and spiffier versions of iTunes u – a Paris has a lot of app or more potential to make his mark in the world as the new iPad or iPhone can. Everything looks really, really cool.
But while the people who made the comments during our liveblog – a smart bunch – and those that I run here at the event were impressed with a lot of what they see, they also have a question. Many of them. And so do I. Here are a few of them:
How likely it is that a large number of large school systems are going to buy this? They are not known for daring to seize new opportunities. And even if the iPad is $ 500 and $ 14.99 digital books more reasonable economy rather than a whole stack of $ 60 book, how would the school acquired iPads and books and distribute them? Apple does not really do so during the show, but all the people I chatted with at demo room wondering about it.
Is a matter of the book is just the iPad? You can’t read it on my Mac – let alone a Windows PC or Kindle – even though You use a Mac to create them. I don’t blame Apple for iPad-centric approach to the book, especially since there are no standards for pushing out really rich, interactive books across multiple platforms. But I wonder whether the school will take care about his own marriage to a t, and Is one of them will have the courage to ask Apple if it plans to release an Android version.
Can we trust kids with iPads? Students, sure. But what about K-12 people? (Phil Schiller said that Apple iPads more durable than a dead tree book because they don’t get a dog-eared. But the book does not shatter when You drop them.)