In alleged talks with McGraw-Hill, Hachette

Apple is currently speaking with McGraw-Hill and the Hachette Book Group about bringing various trade and educational books to its upcoming tablet, say sources claiming to be familiar with the talks. McGraw-Hill could be particularly valuable to Apple, as it is the third-biggest educational publisher in the US, and said to be considering both textbooks and parts of its online learning system for the tablet. Hachette would simply supply a collection of e-books.

Another educational publisher, Wiley, has publicly acknowledged negotiations without mentioning the tablet. "We have had ongoing conversations with Apple about their interest in including educational content," says Peter Balis, Wiley's director of digital content sales. "We will continue to support their efforts in whatever iteration it takes next week."

The McGraw-Hill talks are said to revolve around marketing, as well as how software development teams can collaborate in the publishing process. For McGraw-Hill the tablet is believed to be a way of highlighting Connect, the publisher's online service, used to access coursework. "The more Connect can be displayed and distributed, the more it will resonate with students," says one source. "The tablet would be relevant to the ways students study and the way teachers instruct."

The exchange between Apple and McGraw-Hill has been going on for about a year, the sources say, with Connect being a relative latecomer to product discussions. For its own part, Apple is believed to be rushing through negotiations with a host of publishers ahead of a Wednesday tablet announcement. The timing is so tight that a number of publishers may miss being featured, including Time.

by MacNN Staff