Textbooks aren't always ideal: cumbersome, not terribly portable, not durable, not interactive, not searchable, but the content is great. Companies work hard to update, but hard to get the content out to people fast enough.
Wha????
1)How are textbooks cumbersome?! For comparison, there are no buttons (unlike an iPad), no cords, no dead batteries, no crashing, etc.
2)NOT PORTABLE?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Having graduated high school and college, I can say that I never, ever, found a texbook that was not portable. Sure, maybe if I tried to carry all 15 home in 1 bag at the end of the year...but that's it. Total joke on this point, Apple.
3)Not durable? Again, a joke, Apple.
4)Not searchable? Well, kinda true...but all textbooks are broken up into Chapters and there is that thing called, um, oh, THE TABLE OF CONTENTS in the beginning...and typically an index in the back for topics and sub topics. Very very rarely did I find it hard (gee, I had to spend 5 minutes) to locate a topic in a book. And how many times in Search Engines (either web-based or built into software products) have I spent more than 5 minutes trying to find something...often enough (exception: Google)
5)Can't get the content out fast enough? Mmmmm, last time I checked at textbook was good for a Semester or longer...typically 3-9 months worth of a topic. Other than Science and Biology, textbooks are not years out of date. Typically new Editions come out every year with fixed typos, extra or new examples, and every blue moon a new topic. Lets not forget that textbook companies have been screwing kids for decades by releasing a new "edition" every year which thus makes the old edition worthless on the used market...we've all been there.
It will be interesting to see what Apple has to offer, but this opening statement is a complete joke and the biggest Marketing spin I've ever heard of.
Other comments Apple will likely make against textbooks:
1)You can get papercuts
2)Classmates can draw on them and ruin your pages
3)They are heavy and can cause scoliosis if carrying with a backpack
4)Paper can trigger nasty allergy attacks
5)That "new book smell" can cause brain tumors
6)Bullies throw textbooks at their victims
