05/16, 11:38pm
Video shows Jobs predicting publisher revolt
A 2010 video has surfaced of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs prognosticating that e-books would eventually wind up around the same price on most competing e-book stores. The video comes as the Justice Department pursues its e-book lawsuit against Apple and two other publishers for alleged price-collusion. Depending on one's interpretation of the video, Jobs' statement could imply foreknowledge of publisher plans or just industry canniness, and could even figure in the Justice Department's case.
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04/12, 12:50pm
Part of 'iTunes VIP' program
Apple is now offering special discounts at the online Apple store for some or all iBookstore publishers, TUAW reports. Buyers must go through iTunes Connect, but discounts on computers can range from $60 off the cheapest Mac mini to $500 off the base-level Mac Pro. The major limitation is quantity, as shoppers are said to be restricted to two Macs, two iPods/iPads, and one Apple TV.
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04/02, 4:05pm
Apple could score rare victory over Amazon
The iBookstore is set to expand to Brazil within 30 days, claims a local magazine, Veja. No other details of the arrangement have been revealed, but the publication is the same one that roughly predicted when Apple would bring the iTunes Music Store to Brazil, and correctly stated that the first digital catalog by Roberto Carlos would be a highlight. The Music Store launched a few days after Veja's December 8th target.
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03/23, 4:40pm
Netherlands trials iPad as sole school method
The Netherlands is trying a major experiment where the iPad wouldn't just play a role in education but would be the centerpiece. The Education for a New Era effort would see three to five schools change from the traditional approach and use the iPad as a primary learning tool. While the exact method would wait until a formal proposal, it would encourage Dutch children to learn "21st century skills."
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03/12, 11:05pm
McGraw sees new iPads sparking edu demand
McGraw Hill Education's new ventures VP Vineet Madan predicted in an interview Monday that the new iPad would have a major effect on digital textbooks. He explained to TPM that the 2048x1536 display and added speed would be a large help for digital textbooks. LTE had its own benefit for those that could justify it, since it would be fast enough to stream intensive content instead of having to store everything locally.
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03/02, 12:40am
Smart Baby Monitor launched in US
On Tuesday Marvel begin offering a number of its graphic novels in Apple's iBook Store. Titles include Civil War, Spider-Man, House of M, Captain America, New Avengers, and more, with prices ranging from free up to $25. The publisher has promised to add new titles to the store each week, all of which will be viewable on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Furthermore, Marvel is also currently offering New Avengers Vol.1: Breakout as a free download.
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02/29, 6:00pm
Parallels restrictions at App Store
Apple is clamping down on iBookstore titles just because they link to outside bookstores, a report notes. Stop Stealing Dreams author Seth Godin complains that Apple recently rejected his title because the book contains links to works cited in the bibliography. "Multiple links to Amazon store. IE page 35, David Weinberger link," a rejection notice reads. Godin comments that the issue is also easy to work around in his case, since the unrestricted EPUB edition can be accessed on an iOS device via a web link.
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02/25, 12:15pm
iBooks ePubs can have DRM removed
New updates to copy protection stripping tool Requiem appear to have removed the copy protection from Apple's paid iBooks downloads. The update so far is only known to work with ePubs and not Apple's newer .ibooks textbook format, but it has been tested on the MobileRead forums and elsewhere as working. The app had already worked with pre-iTunes Plus music and with at least some videos.
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02/15, 5:35pm
Early pre-order titles no longer need art
Apple has issued a letter to iBookstore publishers, informing them of several small but significant upgrades to the storefront. The first is support for screenshots, which Apple recommends using for "Fixed Layout, Read Aloud, and Multi-Touch books." The change was likely made with Apple's interactive textbook initiative in mind.
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02/14, 8:25pm
Inkling Habitat aims to compete with iBooks
Inkling is set to launch its free e-book publishing platform that aims to compete with Apple's iBooks. The platform, known as Inkling Habitat, enables users to publish cloud-based interactive e-books complete with embedded HD videos and 3D content.
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02/03, 4:05pm
Non-iBooks output uncontrolled
Apple has pushed out an update to iBooks Author, the company's recently-launched publishing tool. The sole change in v1.0.1 is a new end-user agreement, clarifying a controversial portion of the document which initially suggested that any material produced with the software could only be sold through the iBookstore if it was sold at all. "If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a 'Work'), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple," one part of the previous EULA read.
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01/29, 11:00pm
Barnes and Noble tries third-gen Nook reader
Barnes & Noble in an elaborate study of its business gave away plans for a third-generation Nook e-reader. Scant details were given to the New York Times, but it would ship sometime in the spring. The bookseller's recently established pattern suggests it's an E Ink reader like the Nook Simple Touch rather than an Android tablet.
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01/24, 8:05pm
Apple plans internal town hall on Wednesday
An escaped internal e-mail from Apple CEO Tim Cook intercepted at 9to5 has made allusions to possible insights for 2012 plans to staff. Following the iBooks textbook launch and record quarterly results, Cook was holding a company event at the company's Town Hall theater at 10AM Wednesday. Cook and staff would review what Apple had done, but they would also discuss "some exciting new things going on at Apple," he said.
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01/23, 8:30am
Tracking estimate shows Apple at 350K
Apple may have seen as many as 350,000 iBooks textbooks downloaded since launch. Global Equities Research claims to have a special tracking method that showed the relatively brisk take-up. As many as 90,000 copies of iBooks Author had been downloaded at the same time.
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01/20, 1:20pm
CEO hints at possibility of Android textbooks
Prior to yesterday's textbook announcement, McGraw-Hill had been in talks with Apple since at least June, an AllThingsD interview reveals. "Sitting and listening to all of this, I wish Steve Jobs was here," says McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw. "I was with him in June this past year, and we were talking about some of the benchmarks, and some of the things that we were trying to do together. He should be here. He probably is. This was his vision, this was his idea, and it all had to do with the iPad."
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01/19, 5:30pm
iBooks 2 includes 2X graphics for 2048x1536 iPad
A quick search of the assets for iBooks 2 has all but cemented the likelihood of a 2048x1536 iPad 3 display. Along with including iPhone and regular iPad sizes for its individual images, the new app includes "iPad@2x" artwork for the book cover, BGR noted. Other assets also mention "2x," although Apple sometimes doesn't need to mention which device the resolution is for.
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01/19, 2:40pm
Complains about modern education, pushes iPad
(Updated with event stream) Apple has released the promotional video played at today's press event in New York City. The clip primarily pushes Apple's new textbook format, and the use of iPads in education. It also complains about the state of modern education, though, suggesting that Apple technology will help spark kids' interest in learning.
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01/19, 1:20pm
2GB cap being ignored by Apple partners?
(Updated with iTunes Connect info) In tandem with the announcement of iBooks Author, Apple has published a support document illustrating some details. The company notes, for instance, that while books can be published to the iBookstore as free or paid titles, they can also be exported as separate PDF, text, or iBooks files for distribution elsewhere, though only for free. Selling on the iBookstore requires registration, and a copy of iTunes Producer; submitting to iTunes U requires an iTunes U website.
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01/19, 1:00pm
iBooks 2 gets our early look
Apple committed iOS to education in a big way at its event by launching iBooks 2. We've taken a look at Apple's first dip into a full digital textbook platform and come back fairly impressed. Read ahead for more details and what this might mean for Amazon, Kno, and others hoping to get into e-books for schools.
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01/19, 12:10pm
Also likely supports iTunes U app
Following its announcements of iBooks 2 and the iTunes U app, Apple has released iTunes 10.5.3. The update is a relatively minor one, explicitly intended to support the new interactive textbooks made possible by iBooks 2. It may also provide a backend for iTunes U, since the latter app supports buying and downloading online course material.
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01/19, 10:55am
Makes for interactive, media-rich textbooks
(Updated with iBooks Author availability) Presenting at today's education event in New York City, Apple has introduced iBooks 2, a major update of the company's reading app. A strong emphasis of the app is on textbooks, which can include things like movies, animations, and interactive elements, such as the ability to zoom into cell structures in a biology book. Books now also support elements like indexes, glossaries, review questions, and turning highlights or glossary items into study cards. Titles can be read in a new fullscreen mode, and a Textbooks section has been added to the iBookstore.
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01/19, 9:50am
We cover Apple NYC event as it happens
Apple is starting its New York City education event. The company is expected to introduce a new system to ease publishing textbooks and is rumored to be updating Pages and iBooks, including a possible Mac-native iBooks app. Check our real-time coverage for updates as they appear, starting from 10AM Eastern.
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01/19, 9:50am
iBooks could arrive on Mac for first time
Apple could announce Pages '12, an iBooks 2.0, and textbooks rentals at this morning's education event in New York City, claims ZDNet's Jason O'Grady in a Twitter post. The writer cites only a "little birdie" for the information but also mentions that iBooks 2.0 could include a version for Lion, and that all three products will be announced by Roger Rosner, Apple's VP in charge of iWork.
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01/18, 4:10pm
Company unlikely to use native app approach
Apple's digital textbook project is internally codenamed "Bliss," an AppleInsider source claims. The site says it actually received the tip earlier in the week, but it wasn't until a Wall Street Journal report corroborated some of the details that it decided to publish the information. This includes the assertion that Roger Rosner, Apple's VP for iWork, is overseeing the project.
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01/18, 12:35pm
Bloomberg info expands, reiterate claims
Apple's education event in New York City -- scheduled for tomorrow -- will place an emphasis on growing the educational materials available for the iPad, particularly for K-12 students, say two Bloomberg sources claimed to have "knowledge of the announcement." The people also say that Apple's plans will be revealed by senior Internet software VP Eddy Cue, and involve a set of tools making it easier to publish textbooks and other educational content.
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01/17, 1:20pm
Original source suggests comments misinterpreted
Apple's upcoming education event is being "over-hyped," a new Forbes report suggests. The business publication cites for instance an anonymous former Apple executive, who claims that the event "is being blown out of proportion." More critically Forbes says it has interviewed Matt MacInnis, the Inkling CEO used as a source for an Ars Technica piece suggesting Apple is working on a "GarageBand for e-books."
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01/16, 10:35pm
Scoops outline Apple textbook event
Apple's New York City education event is nothing less than a rethinking of how publishers create e-books as a whole, leaks divulged Monday. One scoop characterized the process to Ars Technica as a "GarageBand for e-books" that would let authors and publishers easily build e-books for iPads and iPhones, including interactive books. iBooks would also start supporting ePub 3, which supports audio and video natively and would make the store much more standards-compatible than Apple's custom take on ePub 2.
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01/11, 1:15pm
Apple to hold NYC event January 19
Apple has confirmed rumors of a New York City event on Wednesday. The company has asked the media to join them for an "education announcement in the Big Apple" on January 19 Its event will take place at the Guggenheim Museum and puts the Apple logo in a traced-out New York City skyline.
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01/07, 4:15pm
Apple sued for inadvertent aid to e-book pirates
Apple is currently facing a lawsuit in China for allegedly aiding in the sale of illegally published e-books on the iBookstore. The People's Daily reported that nine authors accused Apple of doing nothing to stop bootleggers from publishing 37 works without permission and profiting from it. They contended that Apple owed them the equivalent of nearly $1.9 million in damages, both for letting the publishers through and for profiting from its customary 30 percent cut.
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01/03, 3:55pm
iTunes staff allegedly in 'lockdown mode'
Several more details have emerged about Apple's January event. 9to5Mac, for instance, says it has heard that iTunes staff are in "lockdown mode" ahead of any announcements. MacRumors meanwhile says it has learned of Apple taping promotional interviews with textbook publishing executives, although the site adds that it's uncertain if they relate to January plans.
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01/02, 10:35pm
Apple mystery NYC event already toned down
Apple's mystery New York City event this month is less ambitious than speculated, an outside source corroborated Monday. It would center on publishers in the iBookstore, TechCrunch said, and would be "minor." As such, the event would be more for the publishers themselves and not the public.
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01/02, 4:20pm
Apple may have ad or publishing event this month
Apple is gearing up for a non-hardware special event at the end of January, insiders divulged Monday. The gathering, in New York City rather the Bay Area, had few details from AllThingsD but would be headed up by Internet Software and Services head Eddy Cue. The only proclaimed certainty from the multiple contacts was that it wouldn't involve the iPad 3.
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12/20, 8:10pm
Lawyers want to defend based on insider knowledge
Law firms have motioned this week to represent plaintiffs in class action suits accusing Apple of colluding with publishers. Grant & Eisenhofer claimed to have an insider that revealed "detailed knowledge" in March that gave it reason to pursue the case. A matching filing from another firm also pointed to a source, possibly the same one, that attended an "in-person meeting" with a "very knowledgeable and important confidential source" that was aware of dealings.
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12/06, 11:05pm
iBooks 1.5 focuses on distraction-free reads
Apple late Tuesday gave readers an important update to iBooks (App Store). The 1.5 update catches up to some rival apps with a nighttime mode that switches to gray-on-black for reading with little or no light. Full-screen is also an option for those who want even more text on the screen, such as a children's book.
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12/06, 7:30am
EC worries iBookstore may have made illegal deals
The European Commission detailed plans Tuesday for a formal investigation into major publishers and Apple as to whether their deal might violate EU antitrust law. Officials will determine whether Hachette Livre, HarperCollins, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan have possibly used Apple to shut out e-book competition from rival stores or publishers. EC staff are worried that the agency model, where the store makes a flat rate and the publishers set the prices, is keeping the price of titles on the iBookstore and elsewhere artificially high.
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10/28, 9:10am
Nielsen, WSJ team to factor in Kindle, iBooks
Nielsen on Friday broke with traditionalism and said it would start factoring e-books into its charts. Its BookScan metric would now include the Amazon Kindle Store, Apple's iBookstore, Barnes & Noble's Nook store, the Google eBookstore, and other stores would now be counted alongside paper titles. It will break out charts into fiction and non-fiction for both combined digital and paper sales as well as digital-only sales.
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10/24, 4:25pm
Digital version could trump paper sales
The newly-released Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson is on track to becoming an Amazon bestseller, a company spokeswoman tells Reuters. "The way things are trending, it could very likely be our top-selling book of the year," says Brittany Turner. No sales numbers have been mentioned so far.
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10/23, 10:30pm
Steve Jobs biography ironically hits Kindle first
Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs has just gone live as an e-book ahead of its official October 24 unveiling. In unintentional irony, Steve Jobs has arrived first in the US on the Kindle rather than the iBookstore. Apple's store is already making it available in Europe (iBookstore UK).
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10/01, 12:15pm
Apple readies for iOS 5 launch with iWork, iBooks
Apple has posted a pair of updates to key iOS 5 apps in preparation for its iPhone event next week. Those with access to the developer center can now get iWork for iOS beta 4. It's uncertain what changes have surfaced in the new build, although at this stage they will likely be limited to polish.
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09/29, 10:55am
Apple adds bulletpoints for upcoming iPhone event
Apple has dramatically expanded the presence of iTunes in Europe, reports say. In addition to Poland, the iTunes Music Store is now accessible in 11 more European countries. The remainder of the list includes Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
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09/14, 4:50pm
Steps up e-book marketing efforts
Apple today launched an official iBookstore Twitter feed. The page promises information about "new releases, exclusive book offers, and more," and is currently up to four posts. Two of these push the Erin Morgenstern book The Night Circus, which is also this week's Pick of the Week sample giveaway at Starbucks.
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08/09, 6:45pm
Hagens Berman sues Apple over iBookstore prices
Seattle-area law firm Hagens Berman on Tuesday filed a class action lawsuit accusing Apple of colluding with publishers to fix iBookstore prices. The suit, submitted in a Northern District of California court by representing members Anthony Petru and Marcus Mathis, accuses Apple of making unfair deals with Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster to artificially keep prices high. In adopting the agency pricing model, where the store takes a fixed cut but lets publishers dictate the price, Apple set terms that forced Amazon to abandon the wholesale model for the Kindle and raise its prices.
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07/11, 11:00pm
Future hardware may have ubiquitous GPS
Imagine a phrasebook on an iPhone where touching a word brings up the same word in a user's native language, or a children's book where touching a character name shows a picture or video of that character. Apple has submitted a patent that would let apps have this ability backed right into the OS and much more, according to a report from Patently Apple. The idea, if patented, could also have commercial implications.
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07/05, 2:00pm
iBook and App Store said to be growing by 39%
Apple's iTunes products are on track to contribute approximately $13 billion to the company's revenue by 2013, according to Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry. Although Amazon's Kindle platform may have an edge against iBooks in the current market, the analyst suggests many publishers are beginning to favor ePub format, used by Apple, rather than the Kindle format. The iPad is also said to be the preferred e-book reader among students.
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06/14, 6:45pm
iOS 5 code shows iPad 3 Retina Display still alive
New art assets found inside iOS 5 have revived hopes that Apple was making a 2048x1536 iPad display. Much like the iBooks discovery in January, backgrounds and other parts of the Twitter framework are at the extra-large resolution. The TechUnwrapped source hadn't found it anywhere else in the OS so far, though, suggesting that Apple wasn't ready to commit to releasing a sharper tablet in the near future.
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06/07, 2:00pm
May reduce need for dedicated book apps
Apple has released iBooks 1.3, an update of its reading app for iOS devices. The main feature of the upgrade is a "read-aloud" option, which on supporting books will let readers hear a narrator, and in some cases see words highlighted as the speech progresses. Similarly books can now automatically play audio or video, which should diminish the need for dedicated apps in the App Store unless a title requires interactive elements.
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06/07, 9:20am
Some downloads still problematic
Apple has finally released iTunes 10.3, which was initially intended to go live yesterday. As expected the software mainly introduces support for iTunes in the Cloud, which automatically pushes purchased apps, books and music to all devices signed in with a given Apple ID. If a device doesn't have the content synced automatically, an option to download purchases is available, assuming necessary material is still hosted at the iTunes Store.
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05/25, 4:45pm
New law may dictate e-book costs beyond France
A new law passed last week by France's National Assembly could have repercussions for e-book pricing beyond the country itself. Known just as a "prix du livre numérique" (price of digital books) law, it would update the country's Lang Law from 1981 to require that books with a French publisher be sold in France at no more than a five percent discount below the list price. The requirement is irrespective of the company's origin and would make e-book providers like Amazon, Apple, or Kobo follow French rules even though they were located in North America.
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05/18, 4:45pm
No booth planned, spokesperson says
Apple's participation at BookExpo America has been overstated, a spokesperson explains. The event's website cites Apple as an "exhibitor," and the company was initially reported as having a large booth next to Scholastic's. In truth Apple will be meeting with publishers in a private room at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, the spokesperson clarifies.
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05/17, 4:45pm
Push to establish legitimacy of iBookstore?
Apple will make its first-ever appearance at BookExpo America later this month, reports note. The expo represents the largest industry book fair in the US, and this year is scheduled to run from May 23rd through to the 26th. Apple is said to have secured a large booth in an ideal location: in the same general area as Disney, Random House and Macmillan, and immediately next to Scholastic. Disney's largest individual shareholder is Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who also sits on the Disney board of directors.
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