By: Angela Soric
Publishers are rushing to get their book on the new iPad, as well as other Apple devices.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kaplan publishers, McGraw-Hill education and Pearson have all signed deals to convert their textbooks into digital versions for the iPad, phone and touch.
According to sources, even before the launch of the iPad, McGraw Hill CEO Terry McGraw commented about his company’s college textbooks potentially running on an Apple tablet. The publisher’s CourseSmart textbook line is already available as an iPhone and iPod Touch app.
On Wed, agreements were made with ScrollMotion-a company that works with publishers to digitize their books.
According to ScrollMotion, this medium will open up many doors for users, especially students.
Students will be able to mark and highlight text in 6 different colors. There will also be an option to write notes on the device or simply use the built-in microphone to record class lectures or audio notes.
Some other helpful features include interactive quizzes and multimedia to supplement the content of the books.
There is already debate about whether the iPad could push other e-book readers such as the Kindle out of the marketplace, it will be interesting to see the outcome.
