Technology giant Apple have launched a new digital textbook service nicknamed "iBooks 2", the service will allow interactive iPad books to be purchased and publishers will be able to create interactive textbooks using a free application called "iBooks Author". Apple say that authors can create interactive widgets using a mix of HTML and JavaScript

The service was announced at a Press Event at the Guggenheim Museum in New York by Apple's senior VP Phil Schiller who said "We want to reinvent the textbook", Apple say that a new textbook category is available in the iBooks store and the iBooks 2 app can be downloaded now.

Textbooks will be able to feature video, audio and 3D images which the user can interact with, such as a 3D model of an art sculpture or strand of DNA. Textbooks will cost $14.99 or less, although we expect some authors may want to charge more in the future.

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