“Apple Inc. (AAPL) has been selling thousands of iPads to grade schools since its 2010 debut. Now it plans to beef up the educational content available for the tablet so teachers and students find those purchases worthwhile,” Adam Satariano and Peter Burrows report for Bloomberg.
“At an event in New York tomorrow, Apple will announce a set of tools that make it easier to publish interactive textbooks and other digital educational content, said two people with knowledge of the announcement, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly,” Satariano and Burrows report. “The plans, to be unveiled by Apple Internet software chief Eddy Cue, are aimed at broadening the educational materials available for the iPad, especially for students in kindergarten to 12th grade, the people said.”
Satariano and Burrows report, “By setting its sights on the $10 billion-a-year textbook industry, Apple is using the tablet to encourage students to shun costly tomes that weigh down backpacks in favor of less-expensive, interactive digital books that can be updated anywhere via the Web… Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had focused on the textbook business before his death in October. He told biographer Walter Isaacson that the industry was ripe for a digital disruption because of the interactive capabilities made possible by the iPad. Jobs had held meetings with publishers, including Pearson Education Inc., about teaming up with Apple, according to Issacson’s book, ‘Steve Jobs,’ published last year. Jobs wanted to create electronic texts and curriculum material for the iPad.”
Read more in the full article here.
That’ll keep the tree-huggers happy.
Many college students have been waiting for this also.
They need to release an iPad priced and specially configured for the education market (like the eMac, an “ePad” )
A friend of mine in college is training to be a teacher. The community college he’s currently at has a program they are testing that utilizes iPads to help teach children. In the program, the school is paying half of the cost for the iPad and my friend has to pay the remainder $250.
I agree that Apple needs to be priced more aggressive with the iPads in the education field because it’s going to be a HUGE market of growth if done correctly. Apple will have mindshare early on where it counts.
When I told this college student about iBooks (the app), the first thing he asked was if college textbooks were available instead of the option of carrying heavy books around for the classes. These textbooks in digital form will be VERY popular, if they are priced fairly.
The domino effect can’t be understated here.
The iPad really does deserve the title of the NEW PERSONAL COMPUTER… it is truly the POST-PC choice.
It does what most people need a computer for.
it is priced well to compete in a laptop market and the netbooks… it is powerful enough to be comfortable and enjoy
it is a huge hit and a great device – the world has spoken and they like iPAD.
UP NEXT is the transformation of the MAC BOOK AIR
we shall see the new MBAir to be much more like a iPAD – but running OSX LION – it is inevitable.
Where others have failed – like Acer and other tablet who tried to make fulling working Windows tablets during the iPAD win… Apple will show them and us their version; by introducing the new MAC BOOK Air – something like a iPadPro.
I agree completely. I always want text books, training manuals and technical data in digital form so I can search for information I need.
I do not believe that Apple will strip down the iPad down to slash its cost. It may offer the previous generation iPad in a minimum memory configuration and accept reduced profit margins to support education at a significant discount. But Apple doesn’t play in the bargain basement. Even the lower end of the iPod lineup, the Shuffle, is a well designed, well crafted, high quality instrument.
A discounted iPad 2 will provide schools with the pricing they need when the iPad 3 is introduced.
good observation
iPAD 3 will be a better iPAD.
but MacBook Air will steal the stage
for those who need more power.
Yes the POST-PC market will boom and Apple dictates the moves – as it has earned it – since creating the market in the first place.
Too bad the price of these much lighter electronic textbooks will probably be as outrageous as the exorbitant prices of their physical forms.
I hope it’s not true given there will be no buyback program for electronic books and it’s cheaper than producing paper-based materials.
So! Steve Jobs was on the same track as me. He who laughs last…..
Lemmie tell ya, the publishers of textbooks are gonna LOVE this move. Think about it. They lose millions each year when college bookstores sell used copies of textbooks. They also lose millions when they overprint and are forced to recycle unsold books to make room for textbooks that will sell. And then there’s the whole issue of distribution… it will be gone! Set it up once on a server and let the auto-downloading after purchase begin!
I’m in publishing myself and while I whine about the slim profit margins on digital editions vs. paper and ink, I sure don’t mind doing little to no work after the fact when an ebook sells and sells and continues to sell without any extra effort or expense on my part.