There are technology companies and then there’s Apple – a class apart and in a league of its own. Whether it’s transforming the future of smartphones with the iPhone or creating a new business segment for tablets with the iPad, Apple’s technology has been a game changer in several markets.
And when Apple announced a special event to “reinvent the future of digital publishing”, I could sense what was coming. There was a tremendous sense of anticipation for Apple’s publishing event yesterday and based on whatever I’ve seen of iBooks 2 and the iBooks Author tool, I have to say the Cupertino giant hasn’t disappointed.
The Problem (Students)
There’s no doubt that a book is a man’s best companion. It’s an incredible source of knowledge and information. Though paper books have been around since decades, they suffer from the following major limitations –
- No portability
- No durability
- No interactivity
- No searchability
- Obsolete content
The Problem (Book Creators)
Though digital publishing has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, it’s still a tedious process for book creators as it requires specialized tools and a substantial learning curve. To make matters worse, there’s no universally accepted format for digital publishing and creating a digital eBook for each platform is a daunting task.
What is the iBooks Author?
Simply put, the iBooks Author is an Apple-developed app, available as a free download from the Mac App Store, (ideally) makes it easy to make books for the iPad. The idea is to let educators and smaller publishers to create their own books for inclusion in the iBookstore and the best part – it isn’t limited to textbooks, you can create cookbook, travel book, story book, history book, or more.
How do you sign up?
To use iBooks Author, you need to have an iTunes account with a current credit card on file. As with apps, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all sales, so it mandates having a U.S. Tax ID as part of the iTunes Connect sign-up and authentication process.
The Advantages
Schools and colleges are using iPads as a norm rather than an exception these days. Given the widespread penetration of the iPads, the new interactive experience provided by iBooks 2 and the do-it-yourself functionality offered by iBooks Author, Apple’s done a great job of providing an end to end solution for the educational segment.
Moreover, for educators who are familiar with iWorks, using iBooks Author would be a natural learning curve. Additionally, it provides flexibility to format/ customize your book using a WYSIWIG interface or by directly editing HTML5 or JavaScript.
The Disadvantages
The only major disadvantage of Apple iBooks Author is that it’s a proprietary tool. Apple holds an envious position in the education segment and it’s clearly trying to encourage writers and publishers to go all-in on its platform. The problem – books published using the iBooks Author won’t work on Android tablets and in a sense, it’s still not a cross-platform run-it-anywhere solution.
What’s your take on the iBooks Author platform? Do you think it will prove to be a disruptive technology for the publishing industry? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment.
