NewsGallery: APPLE'S IBOOK 2: MIGHT ALMOST MAKE YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN

Apple's iBook 2 for the iPad

By DAWN ELARDO

One of Steve Jobs's final targets for Apple, prior to his passing—which many overlooked, focusing mostly on the tech pioneer's claim to wanting to disrupt the television industry—was education.

In Walter Issacson's Steve Jobs Biography, towards the end of the book, it becomes apparent that both the author and Jobs was preparing to make sure to talk about everything the high-tech entrepreneur (of all time), thought was important to him and everything he stood for.

Apple's iBook 2 for the iPad

In the book Isaacson confirms, " Jobs had his sights on the textbooks as the next business he wanted to transform. He believed it was an $8 billion a year industry ripe for digital destruction."

And Apple has been working incredibly hard as per usual to achieve goals that are true to Apple's DNA and dictum. Yesterday at the Guggenheim in New York, they announced the launch of iBooks 2 for the iPad: It's an application that will allow anyone to either create an iBook or buy an iBook.

Earmarking the textbook industry, Apple's plan of action is to propel the sluggish education program in this country to rise up to the challenge.

Apple's iBook 2 for the iPad

In moving an antiquated form of how students are forced to absorb information: to reinvent simple texts and images by incorporating complimentary 3D graphics, videos and other rich interactive learning features, this may just move the educational system at the very center of the digital revolution.

Indeed, it will be interesting to see how Apple will maneuver its strategy and campaign for one of the biggest tech disruption possibilities yet, sans Steve.

Jobs's wife, Laureen Powell did in fact already kick-start this ambitious but momentous undertaking just this past spring. The task at hand was to help the public school system upgrade learning to the 21st century.

Apple's iBook 2 for the iPad

By installing a program that donates a collection of first generation iPads from iPad 2 up-graders, Apple and Powell coordinated a pledge system involving Teach America corps members to use the iPads in classes. So far, more than 9,000 iPads have been donated to teachers in more 38 states in low-income communities.

Apple iBook 2 is of course a free application for the iPad. The price for the action-pact digital textbooks for the iBook, will be capped at $14.99, (a simple aspect that Jobs thought was detrimental for the iTunes to work as well, at just 99 cents a song).

iBooks Author, is also a free app for anyone to create with a robust multimedia digital textbook offered and designed by Apple.

Apple's iBook 2 for the iPad

The largest tech company has also paired up with the two largest textbook companies, sharing a 90 percent combined market share, Pearson, McGraw-Hill and Hougton Mifflin Harcourt, In addition to to the textbooks, Apple is also vigorously working on developing a richer library for an all new iTunes U.

"The process by which states certify textbooks is corrupt," said Jobs, "But if we can make the textbook free, and they come with the iPad, then they don't have to be certified."

In pure Steve Jobs sentiment he wanted to find a way to help learning in schools become a priority—despite the harrowing recession—delineating in the book that, "The crappy economy at the state level will last for a decade, and we can give them an opportunity to circumvent that whole process and save money."