Users download ebooks destined for the Apple iPad via the iBooks application which is connected directly to the iBookstore on the Apple Store website. iBooks is expected to allow customers to browse excerpts from books, purchase, and download directly from the iBookstore. These iBooks downloads go directly onto the 3D shelves of the iBooks application. You can browse the shelves of iBooks as Steve Jobs did during the product announcement of the Apple iPad. You also get your first free iPad book, Winnie the Pooh, when you download the iBook application. The page contains the latest news for those who download Apple iBooks including alternative source of ebooks such as Kobo and Stanza.

Alice for the iPad was the 12th most popular free application in the Apple App Store for iPad according to the April Distimo Reporthttp://distimo.createsend3.com/t/r/l/bddfh/tukhsidt/j

'Over a quarter million e-books downloaded on April 3, first day the iPad was sold.http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/04/05ipad.html

An eBook reader is not new to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch touchscreen devices from Apple. The free Stanza from Lexcycle has been available from the Apple App Store since 2008. The Stanza 2.0 version comes with a single book: The Time Machine by H.G. Wellshttp://www.apple-touch.com/free-ebook-reader-for-the-ipod-touch-15729.php Project Gutenberg ebooks can be downloaded in ePUB format onto the iPhone/iPod Touch.http://www.gutenbergnews.org/20081031/apple-iphone-touch-stanza-and-project-gutenberg/ Follow the instructions in the referenced article.http://www.gilsmethod.com/how-to-access-30000-free-ebooks-for-the-ipad

Apple has also approved the Eucalyptus ebook reader for download from the iTunes App Store. It was initially banned because the 'Kama Sutra' was one of the downloadable ebooks.http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/apple-relents-adds-pornographic-e-book-reader-to-app-store/ Project Gutenberg ebooks can also be downloaded.

iBooks application is available from the Apple Store. Penguin will be one of the first to provide an interactive ebook via the Apple Store.http://www.iphonehacks.com/2010/03/penguin-books-working-on-interactive-ebooks-for-ipad.html Other online content directly available from content providers using Stanza.

Digital textbooks for education are expected to be an important selling point for the iPad.http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/08/could-apple-ipad-prices-fall/ Textbooks will be adapted to the iPad using ScrollMotion technology that allows for search, dictionaries, glosssaries, interactive quizzes and page numbers.http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/23912/ Major textbook publishers signed to date include McGraw-Hill Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-12, Pearson Education, and Kaplan Inc. (test-prep and study guides).http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/23912/ http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/03/several-textbook-publishers-sign-ipad-deals/

Here are the features and functions of eBook readers available for the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

Stanza by Lexcycle is a free App store download. The user picks books from the online catalog and then selects one that has been downloaded by title or author. While font size is controllable when reading, fonts and colors must be changed from the device's central settings. Pages are turned by a swipe of the finger or touching the edges of the screen. An inline screen is available to move to a different chapter. The last page (e.g., bookmark) is remembered automatically even if you switch books.http://www.apple-touch.com/free-ebook-reader-for-the-ipod-touch-15729.php Stanza connects to several online content sources such as Project Gutenberg.http://www.gutenbergnews.org/20081031/apple-iphone-touch-stanza-and-project-gutenberg/ A video demo is found below. Now that the iBookstore carries Project Gutenberg free e-books other ereader applications may no longer be necessary.

iBooks for iPad is the application to download ebooks from the Apple iBookstore. You must first download iBooks from the Apple App Store.

Chemistry 101 + Web 2.0 = "The Elements: A Visual Exploration" for the iPad has sold 20,000 copies http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/04/the-curious-tale-of-the-wooden-table-that-became-an-ipad-book.html/ref

Alice for the iPad ($8.99)<ref>http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html - more children's books on the sidebar

More important than the reader application is the library collection and ability to read the books on different e-readers.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/technology/personaltech/13smart.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Barnes & Noble’s iPad app, when it is released, will allow you to share books you have bought from B&N with anyone who has the same device.

Digital book titles from the iBookstore are likely to be locked by Fairplay which is a digital rights management software. Fairplay was used on iTunes music until a year ago. Other content in the iTunes store still uses Fairplay. There willl be other protection such as using Adobe Content Server 4.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/02/apple-ibooks-drm-fairplay.html Fortunately for iPad buyers Apple has decided to allow DRM-free ebooks in ePUB format to be downloaded to iTunes and then synched to the iPad.http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/ibooks.html

Dr Seuss Cat in the Hat and more available on the iPad. Interactive features of an [[ebook] include touching pictures to read specific passages of text and Karaoke style highlighting of text as it is read.http://www.ipadhacks.org/ipad-applications/dr-seuss-apps-for-the-ipad http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html

Alice for the iPad ($8.99 - free lite version available)http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html

Jack and the Beanstalk Children's Interactive Storybook ($3.99)http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html

Toy Story Read-Along (free)http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html

Toy Story 2 Read-Along ($8.99)http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html

The Wrong Side of the Bed in 3D HD ($2.99)http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002462-1.html