Why don't Apple Store iPads have full textbook demos?

[FloatingBones]

I wanted to see the the features of the iPad e-textbook features that were demonstrated by Apple in their 1/19/2012 education event. The iPads on the sales floor have a 4-page sample of E.O. Wilson's "Life on Earth". The full-blown free version was not installed; that would have required a password.

I wanted to see all of the features of iBooks -- especially manipulating 3D objects in textbooks. That was not included in the short LoE sample (or anything else on the load).

Is there any idea why Apple has such a limited demo of e-textbooks in their store?

 

[spiderman0616]

Hard to say. Everything you look at at the Apple store is designed down to the last detail, so I'm sure there is a good reason.

 

[Menel]

Is there any idea why Apple has such a limited demo of e-textbooks in their store?

Because there's no real point?

I pulled down the Physics book sample on my iPad, and saw all I needed to see to know I'm going to be jealous of the next generation of high school kids.

 

[spiderman0616]

Because there's no real point?

I pulled down the Physics book sample on my iPad, and saw all I needed to see to know I'm going to be jealous of the next generation of high school kids.

Haha!! TRUTH!!

I think of all the hardback text books I had to carry around in grade school, high school, and especially college, and I too get jealous. I would have especially liked having it in college.

That's ok, now when my sons are old enough to start using textbooks, I can tell one of those old man stories about how I remember when textbooks were actual books of paper and weighed 50 lbs each and I had to get a gym bag just to carry them all around.

 

[touchmonkey]

Haha!! TRUTH!!

I think of all the hardback text books I had to carry around in grade school, high school, and especially college, and I too get jealous. I would have especially liked having it in college.

That's ok, now when my sons are old enough to start using textbooks, I can tell one of those old man stories about how I remember when textbooks were actual books of paper and weighed 50 lbs each and I had to get a gym bag just to carry them all around.

And lug them to school and back 5 miles through 3 feet of snow uphill both ways.

 

[FloatingBones]

Hard to say. Everything you look at at the Apple store is designed down to the last detail, so I'm sure there is a good reason.

It is pretty strange. I'm certain they fronted a bunch of money to the publisher for the rights to give away that textbook. By keeping it out of their own stores, it sure looks like they're squandering some of that value.

Because there's no real point?

I don't want to read the whole book; I would like to have 2-3 samples of each of their widgets to see how they're used. I need to see just how valuable it is to put the 3D graphics into a text.

I noticed they have the iBooks Author app on some of the larger iMac models. I tried to see if I could find put any 3D graphics together in a book from scratch; no luck.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

And lug them to school and back 5 miles through 3 feet of snow uphill both ways.

Lmao! Thanks for the genuine laugh!