Apple's 'iPad Mini' to Strengthen Education Presence Alongside iBooks 3.0

Earlier this month, several sources indicated that Apple will focus on iBooks at its "iPad mini" media event tomorrow, with reports indicating that both personal and education consumption will be of key importance for Apple. Bloomberg Businessweek now profiles Apple's efforts to bring tablets into education, noting that education will indeed be an important theme of the iPad mini unveiling.

Beyond the school market of course, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will use the device to try to widen Apple’s lead over Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. and fend off a more recent threat from Microsoft Corp. in the market for tablets, which NPD DisplaySearch predicts will more than double to $162 billion by 2017. Cook will unveil an iPad with a 7.85-inch screen diagonally, people familiar with its development said in August. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.

Yet Apple executives plan to make a point of highlighting the iPad’s educational capabilities at tomorrow’s event, according to a person with knowledge of the planning. Little wonder. Education spending on information technology, including hardware, was about $19.7 billion in the 2010-2011 period, according to the Center for Digital Education.

The report notes that Apple has realigned its educational sales effort to focus on the iPad, recognizing that school budgets and a desire for more engaging technology are driving a shift in schools' purchasing decisions

ibooks textbooks shelf store
Perhaps supporting the notion of enhanced educational offerings coming to the iPad and iPad mini this week, French site igen.fr reported [Google translation] over the weekend on an iBookstore title showing up with compatibility for an unreleased iBooks 3.0. The Digital Reader later noted that at least half a dozen titles were showing up with the new compatibility requirement, noting that one developer working to create books using Apple's latest tools found that iBooks 3.0 appears set to provide compatibility with the latest EPUB 3 standard at a minimum.

Liz Castro connected me with another ebook developer who has been making ebooks for iBooks 3.0 for the past few days. He has been tweeting his progress and one thing he’s already noticed is that iBooks 3.0 appears to offer more Epub3 support. The fixed layout spec in Epub 3 requires the latest version of iBooks, only Apple hasn’t released it yet.

iBooks 2 was launched earlier this year with a heavy focus on support for new iBooks Textbooks, interactive digital textbooks intended to revolutionize education, starting with high school textbooks. With iBooks 3, it appears that Apple may be set to take its next steps toward improving that experience even further.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Sunday December 22, 2024 8:09 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cites a source within Apple. The report said that iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro ...
m3 macbook air blue

Apple Accidentally Leaked the Next MacBook Air

Sunday December 22, 2024 8:33 am PST by
Apple earlier this month released macOS 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models coming next year. Apple accidentally released macOS 15.2 restore files for unreleased "‌MacBook Air‌ (13-inch, M4, 2025)" and "‌MacBook Air‌ (15-inch, M4, 2025)" models. While it no surprise that the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models were going to be updated with the M4 ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

iOS 18.2.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhone

Saturday December 21, 2024 4:45 pm PST by
Apple appears to be internally testing iOS 18.2.1 for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software update in our website's analytic logs this week. The logs have accurately revealed many iOS versions before they were released. iOS 18.2.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or addresses security vulnerabilities, but it is unclear which specific issues might be resolved. The update...
iPhone 16 Apple Store

iPhone Sizes Change Next Year: What to Know

Monday December 23, 2024 7:40 am PST by
This year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and next year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup. Here's what we know. Standard iPhone 17 Apple could introduce a new display size for the standard iPhone 17 model in 2025. The iPhone 17 could measure in at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches,...
Google Nest Hub 2

New 'HomePod' With 7-Inch Display, A18 Chip, and More Reportedly Launching Next Year

Saturday December 21, 2024 2:03 pm PST by
Apple plans to release a new "HomePod" with a 7-inch LCD display, an A18 chip, and Apple Intelligence support in 2025, according to DigiTimes. Google's Nest Hub It is unclear how much the screen-equipped HomePod would cost, but Apple is seemingly aiming for a reasonable price. In a paywalled report this week, the supply chain publication said Apple has selected China-based manufacturer Tianma ...
iphone 16 pro design cameras

iPhone 18 Pro Rumored to Be More Like DSLR Camera With This Upgrade

Monday December 23, 2024 6:24 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly two years away from launching, a new feature has already been rumored for the devices. In a blog post today, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated that the main rear camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, which would be a first for the iPhone. The main camera refers to the 48-megapixel...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...

Top Rated Comments

iHorta Avatar
159 months ago
I just want to read the books on my Macs.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gmanist1000 Avatar
159 months ago
Why would anyone buy something in iBooks? You can only read them on iOS but you still get the same price point as on kindle which is on every tablet, pc or phone. .

Maybe iBooks 3.0 will support a Mac Application too?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
159 months ago
If anyone buys it at that price point..............:p
At what price point? Apple hasn't announced any yet. Also no school or business that buys in bulk pays retail. Prices are negotiated, and often 20-40% below retail. Most companies think of Edu sales as a "loss leader," because students then go home and ask the parents for their own.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JS82712 Avatar
159 months ago
If anyone buys it at that price point..............:p

or you can calm yourself and just get a plastic kindle fire.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrRadon Avatar
159 months ago
Why would anyone buy something in iBooks? You can only read them on iOS but you still get the same price point as on kindle which is on every tablet, pc or phone.

I aslo think this is failing hard for them, the major textbook they released (and the only one that made it to the german ibooks) never got any of the regular payed updates they promised. Besides the fact that it´s one chapter already was over a gig.

It´s to restricted by OS and by current Mobile Datastorage.


Finaly give me that new iMac. I need one, i could get an old one but i am not willing to pay a two year old price on it.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shurcooL Avatar
159 months ago
iPad
iPhone
iPod
Android
Kindle
OS X
Windows 8
Windows 8 RTM
Linux
Cross-platform is the way to go.

You gain traction by having availability, which makes the platform feasible (not everyone will buy books if they work on Apple devices only). Then you win people over by having superior experience in your own garden.

Just think how much more popular iMessage, FaceTime, Find Friends, etc. would be if they had (even if crappy) clients for other platforms? It'd get people to switch to Apple ecosystem more easily.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)