The ebook reader application for the Apple iPad and iPhone 4 is called iBooks. Users download ebooks via the iBooks app which is connected to the iBookstore (see citation for a walkthroughhttp://theappleblog.com/2010/04/16/ibooks-and-the-ibookstore-a-walkthrough/?utm_source=theappleblog&utm_medium=most-commented). iBooks continues to be the top free download according to the May Distimo Report.http://distimo.createsend3.com/t/r/l/nidydk/tukhsidt/j Over 1.5 million+ ebooks were downloaded in first month onto the iBook from the iBookstore.http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224700595 The latest news and developments for the iBook are found on this page.

WWDC highlights for the iPad include: in-line notes that look like post it notes, new control in upper right to addboomark, bookmark looks like little red ribbon and appears in table of contents, able to read and view PDF's inside of iBooks. New book shelf for PDF's. Navigate pdf's just like regular iBooks.

Reminder: iBooks is not installed on the iPad. You'll have to download from the iTunes store using the newly released iTunes 9.1.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362136,00.asp iBooks is an iPad only application that includes the iBookstore.http://news.softpedia.com/news/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-iBooks-App-for-iPad-139306.shtml Winnie the Pooh is the free iPad book that comes with the iBooks app download.

Apple has targeted newspapers, book publishers, and academic textbooks as content sources for the new iPad. Steve Jobs said at the product announcement "We think iPad will be a terrific e-book reader for popular books and textbooks," Jobs said. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/187897/ipad_to_feature_apples_ibooks_ereader_app.html This message was repeated during a reporters meeting with Apple management.http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/08/could-apple-ipad-prices-fall/ Publishers signed to date include McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-12, Pearson Education and Kaplan Inc as mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article.http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/03/several-textbook-publishers-sign-ipad-deals/ Perseus Group and Workman signed the week before the launch.http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_adds_another_publisher_to_ipad_medium-sized_independent_workman/ The Apple iPad went on sale April 3 in the US and over 3 million units sold in 80 days in the few countries that it has been available.http://mashable.com/2010/06/22/ipad-3-million/

iBooks coming to the iPhone 4 with a move to the cloud - same iBookstore plus:

"Download the same book to all your devices for no extra charge"

"iBooks automatically syncs your place, bookmarks, and notes"

Along with other iBooks changes announced at WWDC10, the gap with Kindle functionality is closing.http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/198336/ibooks_gains_ground_on_the_kindle_platform.html

Those who already have iOS 4 installed began getting notices on June 10th of the availability of iBooks via iTunes.http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/11/apple-rolling-ibooks-out-across-ios-4-devices-get-your-winnie-t/

The iBooks application can be downloaded from the Apple Store for the iPad in the countries where the iPad is available for sale.http://download.cnet.com/iBooks/3000-20412_4-11212325.html iBooks app is also available for iPhone and iPod Touch but not the Mac as of yet.http://www.macworld.com/article/150896/2010/04/ibookstore.html

iBooks will not be pre-installed on the iPad but downloaded from iTunes so that updates to this ebook reader can be had without a system update. The only way to update pre-installed apps is via a system update.http://www.cultofmac.com/ibooks-app-wont-be-standard-on-ipad/29744

Product specifications of iBooks are emerging. The demo of the New York Times newspaper in iPad digital media format shows how users interact with this new form of media. You can also look at the Delicious Library app to see what it looks like (remarkably similar according to at least one analyst).http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/27/think-ibooks-looks-familiar-youre-not-the-only-one/ Read aloud will be enabled although this is controversial among book publishers as the works weren't licensed as audio books.http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/ipad-ebook-features/

The iPad touchscreen device does facilitate reading. The iPad has a wide enough viewing angle such that you can tilt to right or left and still read the screen. The on-screen QWERTY keyboard is good enough for quick typing (especially those who finger peck) such as entering a search term. A page is turned by dragging it across the screen that mimics doing so on the physical page.http://news.book.co.za/blog/2010/02/04/a-virtual-look-at-the-ipad/ In contrast to the Kindle that is based on locations (several assigned to a page), the iPad refers to pages as pages.http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ipad-notebook12-2010apr12,0,4893505.story?track=rss

The CNET correspondent at the Apple iPad product announcement described the ebook capability of the iPad as:

"iBooks' will respond to the device's accelerometer and switch between landscape and portrait modes. Its controls will disappear when unused, and a swipe (or tap on the left or right side of the screen) will cause the pages to turn. iBooks' page-turning looks smoother and more engaging than Stanza's, with page corners digitally curling toward you as you advance, but this is hardly different behavior than what you'd find in other digital readers. iBooks will also include a progress bar to show how far you are along in a book, and you're able to change the reader's font size."http://download.cnet.com/iBooks/3000-20412_4-11212325.html There is even a built-in code feature that allows the page to curl (dynamic page curl) when it is being turned.http://blog.steventroughtonsmith.com/2010/02/apples-ibooks-dynamic-page-curl.html

Interactive use of iPad's accelerometers is demonstrated in the iBook version of Alice in Wonderland (see video below).http://www.thebigmoney.com/blogs/24-7-wall-st/2010/04/15/ipad-alice-ibooks-get-curiouser-and-curiouser

The iPad announcement did not address Digital Rights Management (DRM).http://news.book.co.za/blog/2010/02/04/a-virtual-look-at-the-ipad/ The recently released SDK for iPad currently doesn't address eReader functions and publishers will want some control over their ebooks (e.g., can't print or alter). Yet a PDF format file can't be published on the iBookstore so what is a publisher to do?http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=11986

Adobe Content Server 4 is expected to be used for the ePUB eBooks being released for the iPad. In addition, most 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 and still used on other content in the iTunes store.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/02/apple-ibooks-drm-fairplay.html It looks like eBooks for the iBooks reader will be incompatible with other eBook readers due to different DRM software.http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14382854?nclick_check=1

Fortunately for iPad users Apple has decided to allow non-DRM ePub content to be downloaded from the iBookstore which vastly increases the number of books available.http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/ipad-ebook-features/ This means Project Gutenberg free ebooks can be loaded on the iPad.http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/23/project-gutenberg-books-will-work-on-the-ipad/ Detailed instructions in the referenced article show how this is done.http://www.gilsmethod.com/how-to-access-30000-free-ebooks-for-the-ipad

There are many ways to use iBooks. If you want to load DRM-free ePub formatted books from places such as the Gutenberg Project (although already in iBookstore), there is a tutorial available. iClarified has posted a "How to Transfer ePub eBooks to Your iPad".http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=8920

Availability of the iBooks ebook reader application is linked to the release of the iPad in a country.

Australia received the iPad on May 28th although the publishers signed up for the iBookstore are unknown at this time.http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/core-dump/38954-ibookstore-uncertainty-dampening-ipad-interest

iBooks is now available in the UK for download.http://www.slashgear.com/ibooks-hits-international-ipads-but-ibookstore-is-bare-2586971/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashgear+%28SlashGear%29

The likely reading experience can be tried out by using the Iceburg Reader for iPhone by ScrollMotion Inc. who has been tapped by textbook publishers to adapt their digital books.http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/23912/

Stanza (by Lexcycle an Amazon company) e-book reader app available for the iPhone has been stripped of its USB ePub transfer capability at the request of Apple.http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/10/02/02/part.of.campaign.against.amazon/

The Kindle app for iPad is now available.

If you wish to publish your own book and get it synched to your iBooks bookshelf via iTunes, there are a number of tools now available to convert ebooks to ePub format.http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/042310-a-novel-concept-roll-your.html