When I’m right, I’m right. In a previous post Why You Shouldn’t Get Too Excited About Apple’s iBooks 2 Textbooks, I argued that e-textbooks won’t catch on anytime soon because not everyone has an iPad, and the high price will be prohibitive for many students to buy one.

This is especially true for poorer school districts. Even if Apple has a iPad lending program, or discounts for school, you’re still trusting high school students with a very expensive device.

In college, you can’t teach a class with some students using an e-textbook and other students using a print textbook. It just won’t work. You can, however, give every student an iPad by adding the cost to an already high tuition bill. Overall though, I don’t think e-textbooks will catch on soon. There are too many barriers to overcome first.

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NOTE: Check out my follow-up to this post: E-Textbooks In iBooks 2 Won’t Catch On Anytime Soon

Now that Apple has released iBooks 2, which is enhanced for e-textbooks, everyone is excited about how this new feature will revolutionize learning. My advice: Don’t get too excited, at least, not yet.

Yes, the new iBooks 2 is very impressive. I’ll give it that. But there’s a huge difference between being “impressive” and being “practical” in the real world.

How dare I question Apple’s innovation! Just hear me out. I’m predicting e-textbooks aren’t going to catch on anytime soon. Here’s why.

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Apple introduced iBooks 2 for iPad today that adds a new e-textbAfter ook feature that will allow students to interact with the material, not just read it.

These electronic textbooks are enhanced for graphics, videos, interactive features, students notes, highlights and anything else you can think of to make a boring subject like chemistry tolerable.

I found a cool video on engadget that demonstrates all the features mentioned above. Take a look for yourself:

The ebook industry is coming under heavy scrutiny from US and European officials investigating antitrust allegations. The justice department, states attorney general and EU officials are seeing whether or not several publishers fixed prices when they inked a deal with Apple before the launch of the iBookstore.

Central to the investigation is the “agency model.” This allows publishers to set ebook prices while giving Apple or Amazon (for example) a percentage of the sale. The agency model prevents ebook retailers from setting prices too low, thus devaluing the ebook (or so publishers say).

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Steve Jobs really was a genius. And I’m not just saying that because of his recent passing (RIP). The products Apple comes out with are always beautifully designed and surprisingly simple.

But Jobs’ genius didn’t just extend to making great products, he was also a cunning businessman who knew how to give Apple a leg up on the competition.

A great example of this is how Steve Jobs single-handily forced Amazon’s hand when it came to ebook pricing. He looked at how Amazon’s was pricing their ebooks and basically said their business model was stupid.

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The world lost a creative genius and visionary today. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple and the man behind some of our most beloved gadgets like the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Mac computers, has died.

The Apple website posted this short message:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com

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