Apple unveils iBooks 2 digital textbook scheme

Apple has launched a digital textbook service, dubbed iBooks 2, that will allow book publishers to create fully interactive titles for Apple's iPad.

Apple's new iBooks 2 textbook service and related software will allow publishers to create fully interactive digital titles for the iPad. Image credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET News

At an education event in New York on Thursday, the company said iPad users will be able to swipe across the display to open textbook pages and view movies within each chapter. The operating system's familiar pinch-and-tap features are also available, giving people more interaction with titles.

In addition, people will be able to see 3D images and rotate them to get a better feel for what a DNA structure looks like, for example. The books can also be switched between portrait mode and landscape modes to make text and images easier to interact with.

To spur development of textbooks, Apple has launched a new application, iBooks Author. The free Mac OS X application lets authors create both textbooks and books. According to Apple, the iBooks 2 application can be downloaded from the App Store to the iPad for free. The textbooks themselves are priced at $14.99 (£9.70) or less, Apple says.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Apple launches iBooks 2 digital textbooks on CNET News.