Apple's New E-Textbook Platform Enters an Already Crowded Field

From The Chronicle of Higher Education:

When it comes to e-textbooks, though, Apple is hardly the first mover, and it does not seem to have the muscle with book publishers that it flexed with music executives. A handful of textbook publishers participated in the Apple announcement—mainly McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. But those publishers have formatted only a handful of titles for Apple's new iBooks2 app, and they have not pledged a low price beyond those initial titles (which are $14.99 each or less).

Genevieve Shore, CIO and director of digital strategy for Pearson, said in an interview at the event that Apple's platform was just one of many the publisher was using to distribute its e-textbooks. "We kind of call it 'flat content.' It will go to whatever channel students tell us to go to," she said. "What Apple brings to it is it's beautiful," she said, referring to the slick look of the book-building tool and the resulting iPad books. (Apple staff members at the event refused to answer reporters' questions.)

Does she worry that professors could use the new free book-making software to put publishers out of business? Not at all, she insisted. In fact, she pointed out that Pearson has offered a custom-textbook service in print for 30 years, and also offers a digital build-your-own textbook system. Other major publishers already offer similar services as well.

In that way, Apple has simply thrown another platform into a crowded and incompatible market. That diversity seems to have helped slow adoption of e-textbooks, because students and professors have to learn new interfaces for each publisher's offering.