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The Cupertino, California-based firm has inked deals with publishers Pearson PLC, McGraw-Hill Cos Inc., and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the three of which rule a whopping 90 percent of the textbook market in the US.

 

The idea to move in this sector, which Amazon is currently the ruler in with its Kindle devices, came from Apple's co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs only months before he died. It may mark the last of his great business ideas put into action, with the digital textbook market worth an estimated $8 billion.

 

Initially students will buy books directly from Apple at $14.99, significantly cheaper than their hardcover versions. Apple will take 30 percent of the money generated in this way.

 

 

iBooks 2 is a free app available on the iPad. There are textbooks available on a wide range of subjects at different levels of education, with many of the books coming with interactive features.

 

Apple is hoping that widespread adoption of digital textbooks will push sales of its iPad, the next version of which is expected for release in March. 

 

Apple claims that its iPads are “very affordable,” a difficult marketing spin to swallow, given the starting price of $499, which is two and a half times the price of Amazon's Kindle Fire and up to five times the price of a regular Kindle, where students can also get digital textbooks.

 

Source: Reuters