Next week, Apple will be holding a special media event in San Jose, with the main spectacle widely presumed to be the iPad Mini. That’s not all we’re going to be seeing, though, and as well as a purported refresh of the Mac mini and iMac desktops, it looks as though iBooks will also be getting a significant update as previously speculated upon, driving the version number up to 3.0.
With a new smaller iPad on the horizon, it’s not surprising to see Apple tweak and improve its iBooks service, particularly given the education-driven intentions of the device. The full-sized iPad has played a big part in offering a more interactive, immersive education throughout many schools and learning facilities, and by selling a slightly scaled-down version for what is likely to be a significantly lower asking price, more schools and kids will be able to take advantage of the technology.
iBooks 2.0 was announced earlier this year, and brought with it digital textbook support among a few other changes. A listing on Apple’s iTunes Store mentions iBooks 3.0 (via French blog iGen), and with the event scheduled for next week on October 23rd, our better judgment suggests to us that Tim Cook and friends will offer an insight into the new version at the keynote.
Although the iPad is not considered as much a device for reading books on as it is for, say, web browsing, the smaller price tag expected of the iPad Mini will see more and more consumers pick one up and use it for looking through books – gaining knowledge and expanding horizons.
The display of the smaller iPad is expected to offer the same resolution as the iPad 2, but on a smaller scale, which will mean a sharp, if not Retina pane for the new iBooks to be utilized.
Little is known of what improvements Apple has made with iBooks 3.0, although the very nature of the point update suggests it’ll have been significantly altered from its current state. All will become clearer as we close in on next Wednesday, and should we hear any further information with regards to the iPad Mini, new iBooks, or any other speculated product, we’ll be sure to give you the usual heads-up.
(via TheNextWeb)
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