News

The Problem With iBooks – The Platform Is Very Limited
Paul Colligan makes a big leap in his column: The Problem With iBooks:

iBooks only works on the iPad. Kindle products work on the iPad, the iPhone, PCs (Macs coming soon), and Blackberries.

I don't know where he got any specific statement that iBooks will only work on the iPad, but I just can't imagine it's true. That Apple wouldn't make iBooks available on Macs (and PCs as well) through iTunes is inconceivable. The iTunes store, and all the Macs and PC users that access it, is one of Apple's biggest assets. The idea that they wouldn't want to exploit it is nonsensical. The iPad may be Apple's first eBook platform, but it's not the only equipment they have that can be used to read electronic books.

If Apple doesn't announce some kind of support for the iBookstore content to those on Macs and PCs when their Bookstore opens, look for it to happen soon after; Apple isn't going to leave all that business to Amazon. it just doesn't make sense.


iBookstore and the Format of eBooks
Others are wondering about whether to use ePub or standalone apps for dealing "printed" material [Hey! What happened to PDF?! -Ed]

I think its becoming increasingly clear that the ePub format is not going to work equally well across all the many devices that the eBook proponents want it to travel. Part of the reason for this is that the standard file format was designed to solve a problem of how to make 'reasonably straightforward chapter based' books flow and reflow across multiple screen-based systems. The original specification did not allow for the fact that scores of different and somewhat incompatible reading engines would be implemented so that the same text looks so different across different platforms.

 Source: Exact Editions Blog


Publishers Ready for iPad, Worry about Apple-Adobe Flash Support
While it's clear that digital magazine applications for the iPad and iPhone will be exclusive for the platform, versions developed using Adobe Air or Flash would work on tablets running Microsoft Windows, such as the HP Slate introduced in January. However, interest in tablets running Windows is not as high as the buzz the iPad has generated.
Source: Yahoo/PC World


Apple iPad lassos AP, Conde Nast for special apps
Now two more major outlets, the Associated Press and Conde Nast, have said they will target users of the iPad and other e-reading devices. In a statement released today, the Associated Press unveiled AP Gateway, which will allow the wire service to sell articles and videos directly to reader
Source: Christian Science Monitor


Apple iPad 'to cost £389'
The Geeky Gadgets website reports that the entry-level iPad, which has Wi-Fi and 16GB of flash memory, will cost £389. The 32GB version will cost £439, while the 64GB version will cost £489. The rumoured UK prices are significantly more expensive than Apple's US iPad prices – there, the entry-level model costs $499 (£326), the 32GB version costs $599 (£392) and the 64GB model is $699 (£457).
Source: Telegraph.co.uk


What the iPad might mean for libraries
The critical question for me right now is whether, given a choice, without a nurtured bias for paper books, children would select a traditional, printed volume or a digitally enriched electronic version. Not what we would select, but what our students would choose.
Source: School Library Journalk