iBooks 3.0 with EPUB 3 support coming Tuesday?
This weekend, Nate Hoffelder (@thDigitalReader) of The Digital Reader posted “iBooks 3.0 Coming Next Week – Adds More Support for Epub3” tracking clues that the Apple press event on October 23 will not only include an announcement of the iPad Mini but also the release of iBooks 3.0.
John-Michel Dentand (@jmdentand) posted two error message he received when loading the book Koko the Great to iTunes. The first reads:
Update Required: This book contains enhanced content or formatting that requires the latest version of iBooks.
The second reads:
Requirements: This book requires iBooks 3.0 or later and iOS 5.0 or later. Books can only be viewed using iBooks on an iPad, iPhone (3G or later) or iPod touch (2nd generation or later).
As Hoffelder notes in his post, the jump to iBooks 3.0 likely means this is a major update to the reader. Could Apple be the first retailer to support the full EPUB 3 spec? Will EPUB 3 support plus the lower price iPad Mini give Apple a clear advantage in capturing the eTextbook market? We will have an answer on Tuesday.
That would be great. We have been waiting for proper MathML support in a mainstream ebook reader. My company makes MathType, the equation editor which integrates into Apple iWork and iBooks Author products so this is of obvious interest to us. With any luck, Apple’s support of EPUB 3 will get the other ebook readers to add support. My fingers are crossed!