Apple’s much talked about announcement today puts the tech giant in the book publishing space (with the unveiling of the iBooks author app, which allows authors to self-publish, and iBooks 2, an upgrade of the iBooks app which includes a new category for textbooks. We hear the idea for Apple to offer textbooks came from a student intern. The real shocker? Textbooks will cost $14.99 or less. Call us skeptical, but we’re guessing this won’t include those massive texts we had to carry to and from chemistry class in college… According to the announcement, the textbooks category will launch with high school textbooks from Pearson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and DK with texts for biology, algebra, and math. TechCrunch goes over the details of the announcement, teasing out the key issues. Speaking of textbooks, Chegg, the textbook rental company, has launched a new HTML5 cloud-based reader app which offers a media-rich experience and works on a greater number of devices, including the iPad. The new app gives users access to crowdsourced highlighting, instant definitions, and its “Ask A Question” service, which provides expert answers within two hours. Where was all this when we were in school?) (Publishers Weekly) (eBookNewser)
– Facebook is getting appified! The social giant has unveiled Open Graph (which allows sites like airbnb, Pinterest, Ticketmaster, and more to merge user data with Facebook data to make for easier sharing on users’ timelines…should they opt in, of course. Some 60 partners are already on board. Moreover, the new program also allows anyone to develop apps for Facebook, pending approval, and developer materials and guidelines will be available soon. We imagine it won’t take long for advertisers to jump on this bandwagon) (The Verge)
– Ryan Seacrest and Mark Cuban are teaming up to create a new 24-hour pop culture TV channel (called AXS, that Cuban describes as “‘SportsCenter’ for pop culture and music.” Concert giant AEG and Creative Artists Agency also have a hand in the channel. We’re curious to see what this media-meets-culture dream team brings to the table, er, TV) (LA Times)
– The darkening of the Internet yesterday certainly accomplished its mission (to get everyone’s attention. Millennials took particular notice, and as we’d expect from this crowdsourcing, user-generating generation, responded with clever parody videos, online communities, and more) (Trendcentral)
– Disney continues to back 3D entertainment (this time in the world of books instead of another movie re-release. It’s offering a new edition of its Beauty And The Beast: Storybook Deluxe app for iPad with games, movie clips, puzzles, and more, conveniently timed to coincide with the re-release of the film. Sea World is also giving digital publishing a try with a series of new storybook apps for kids aged 3 to 8. A portion of the sales of the book apps will go to Sea World’s conservation programs) (Cynopsis) (Kidscreen)
– Young Carrie Bradshaw is making it to the small screen (with The CW optioning Candace Bushnell’s “The Carrie Diaries” for a series, which we think women of all ages will be excited to watch. We’re already wondering who they’re going to get to play the title role…it’s no small thing to play the younger version of a heroine women adore. In other celeb/book news, Chris Colfer — aka Kurt on “Glee” — can add children’s book author to his impressive resume. “The Land Of Stories: The Wishing Spell” comes out in July and follows twins as they enter a fantastical realm filled with witches, trolls, and adventures. And it looks like it might be part of series with that subtitle and all…) (NY Mag) (Popdust)
– Get ready for the rise of the multi-tablet household (according to new research from Deloitte. As manufacturers release updated versions of their hardware, people are upgrading their devices and passing their used versions on to other members of their households. No doubt some of these will fall into the hands of children…) (Telegraph)
