Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
Summary: Apple may aim to reinvent the textbook market, but its efforts so far don't show that it wants to do so openly.
Revealed today, Apple's textbook ambitions are, conceptually, air tight: The company plans to inject itself directly between textbook publishers, schools, and students, acting as a middle man for a business model in dire need of updating.
But there are problems, too. ZDNet's Zack Whittaker notes that, while Apple, publishers, and rich schools are clearly the winners with the new developments, groups like poorer students and low-income school districts will clearly lose out.
Jason Kendrick points out another problem -- iPads and careless kids don't go together all that well. "They are simply too thin and fragile to handle the rigors of the school day," Kendrick says of the iPad. "I can easily imagine horrible cracking sounds emanating from backpacks as things are thrown on top of the tablets," he writes.
But there's another issue: Apple's interactive textbooks are tied directly to the iPad. This, granted, is unavoidable, as it's Apple that's done all the legwork to deal with publishers and develop the requisite creation tools. The goal is to tie textbook purchases to iPad purchases, after all. It's a savvy business decision, but Apple's closed ecosystem leaves out in the cold many potential users, especially those who would have a hard time shelling out the cash for a $500 device.
A better route would be the one followed by Amazon's Kindle app. While available on platforms as diverse as Windows, Android, and even iOS, the Kindle app is still tied to Amazon's own ecosystem. This vastly expands the number of potential users while still giving Amazon access to them.
But Apple isn't Amazon. As history as shown, Apple is far more interested in controlling the end-user experience, a possibility not afforded to it if users are reading textbooks on disparate devices like Android tablets and smartphones. Hence why it makes sense that Apple went the route it did.
But on matters of education, this approach is harder to swallow. While many school districts have money set aside for iPad purchases, far many more are dealing with budget cuts and teacher lay offs. If Apple is as serious about improving education as its publicity would lead you to believe, the best solution would be to open up the format to devices and platforms besides the iPad and iOS.
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While tying education to a $500 device, I see the same problems tying it to ANY device. I can see why Apple wants to do this (profits and platform lock in), but whenever you mandate a piece of technology to be required for any type of education, it is a failure.
Carrying 10 pounds of books is a pain (but good exercse :-)), but is good in that the playing field is level and you can reduce costs by buying the books used, then selling them back after your classes end. There is no indication that virtual books will be substantially less, and there is no resell market for them.
If anyone were truly interested in solving the problem for the educational market (and I am not convinced there is a problem), they would create tools based on HTML 5 and base it on the browser (all are/will be HTML complaint) and make learning interactive that way.
This is nothing more than yet another Apple lock in, tied to their iTunes monopoly (and yes, I believe they have a monopoly in the digital music distribution market!)
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
The question is whether Amazon will step in here and start getting more textbooks available.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
How are the graphics on the $100 Kindle?
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
I'm not sure pointing out the iPad's greater functionality and flexibility does anything for your argument but it is worth noting that aside from books, it is capable of running word processing for writing papers, powerpoint presentations and hundreds of Apps for Math, science, foreign language etc...
iPad is currently the [i]perfect[/i] companion medium for education.
Have you seen the video???
Kindle Can
The 100 Dollar Kindle no, but the higher priced Kindle (still less than half the cost of an iWorship_Pad will. As will the Nook color. Android can after all be programmed for most anything.
But the future of publishing in the electronic age is still HTML5, as previously noted. Bookmarks will then give you all the other options you need.
Now, about the ridiculously high eBook prices, ...
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
Amazon's kindle fire could be used but in a way it's is even more enclosed than ipad. I also seem to remember a 70 dollar a month subscription for the device. Surely one may be able use the device without subscription but that would be like Xbox 360 without xbox live gold. Over time iPad is the cheaper investment which actually allows more 3rd party capabilities than kindle's totally subsidized ??ber enclosed digital delivery.
As for iTunes, its not a monopoly. Amazon, Napster, Rapsody, and countless and namless companies have tried to emulate iTunes success to no avail. iTunes is so successfully is because the simplicity of delivery and that no service can match it it's user experience which with apples success with mobile devices makes for a killer combination that no other comany could ever achieve.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
No no no. You don't get it. No one is objecting to closed devices. Closed devices aren't really a problem. The problem is closed content. You don't need to get a Kindle to read a Kindle book. You can read a Kindle book on an iPad.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
you can be sure apple will make sure you can not sell the book to someone else. It will be locked to your id only.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
What did you specialize in that you could teach without resorting to graphics, at all? And what is the difference between graphics and illustration in your mind?
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
What the heck are you talking about? Graphics help education in every field - from mathematics and statical graphs to historical photos and paintings to current events. Imagine reading a text in geography which not only describes the plains of Africa, but includes embedded video of land features, animals and political boundaries. Imagine being able to manipulate 3D models of insects to be able to better understand their anatomy, and being able to zoom in and out of classical paintings to get a better understanding of the styles and techniques of different artists. Students could not only read about the importance of classical composers, but listen to their most famous works.
There are huge problems with Apple's approach, but mixed-media learning offers amazing potential for revolutionizing how we learn.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
It should be added I'm no apple fanboy, my phone is Samsung Galaxy S2, and I'm a PC.
I do work within education, (within I.T. dept within a UK University). And although I don't teach, I just don't understand how people can't see the massive benefit technology can bring to the teaching of all ages.
It's about changing the way we teach, making learning both fun and interesting.
And yes, just watch the apple video, the graphics are outstanding. They will no doubt improve lesson content.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
10lbs? When did you got to school? The 1920s?! Also, no, it's not good exercise. It's high impact exercise, usually done improperly, which will likely mean that every child that's going to school right now will have long term joint problems by 30.
RE: Apple's textbook plan's biggest flaw is that it's tied to the iPad
Apple does not have a monopoly in music distribution. I have over 400 albums and not a single one has been purchased through itunes. There are plenty of alternatives.... people are just too lazy/uninformed to try them.