iBooks update brings social sharing, book updates
updated 03:45 pm EDT, Tue October 23, 2012
Improvements geared for typical readers, students
Apple has introduced a major update to its iBooks app for iOS devices (free, App Store). Previewed alongside the new iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, iBooks 3.0 adds a number of new features, including quote sharing via Facebook and Twitter, deeper iCloud integration and automatic scrolling.
Authors now have more options to choose from, enabling books to be created with embedded fonts, multi-touch widgets and mathematical expressions. Publishers can also choose from new templates, create portrait-oriented books, or release updates to a book after it has already been released.
Apple CEO Tim Cook took time to highlight the success of iBooks, noting that the iBookstore now includes over 1.5 million titles and recently surpassed 400 million downloads in less than three years since launch.
iBooks 3.0 is expected to be added to the App Store later today.
