One of the big announcements at Apple’s Education event was iTunes U for the iPhone and iPad. I’ve done some poking around the iPad version and have been very impressed.

The Catalogue is laid out exactly like the App Store and iBookstore, so everyone is already familiar with how to browse it and subscribe to courses. The iTunes U library is where you’ll find all the courses you are subscribed to and it looks similar to the bookshelf in iBooks.

Inside a course, you’ll find all the info an instructor chooses to share about the class, including catalogue information and the course outline, structure, and syllabus. Instructors can also make posts to the course with more information about lectures as well as documents and videos. Additionally, students can take notes in a designated area of the course page and quickly access all course materials.

As a college instructor, I look forward to using iTunes U as a way to supplement content and materials for my classes.

Now that Apple has taken the covers off iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U — they’ve left us with plenty to talk about and consider. How much impact will these tools have? Will publishers adopt quickly or will they ignore the offerings? You can discuss those things and more in the iMore forums – you can register now to get started today:

• Books, Mags, and Comics Forum: iBooks Author, thoughts?
• iPad Apps and Games Forum: iBooks 2 textbooks thoughts.. awesome or another PING?
• iPhone Apps and Games Forum: iTunesU App — Will you use it?

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

BGR was tipped on a few references to x2 iPad graphics — the kind required for Retina displays — in the new iBooks 2, adding fuel to the iPad 3 rumor fire.

Some of these aren’t new, and were included in the iBooks 1.1 update from last year, but it’s still nice to see that Apple’s getting ready.

Source: BGR, @boygenius

Immediately following Apple’s Education Event, I downloaded a couple textbooks from the iBookstore, namely, Geometry and Chemistry. I’ve done some browsing and am very impressed with what Apple and the publishers have done with these textbooks.

On the surface, the books look like typical textbooks, but a simple touch brings the pages to life. You can enlarge images, flip through slideshows, watch videos and examples, take sample quizzes, and more. One of my favorites features is that there are flashcards pre-created with all the terms and definitions from each chapter. You can also create your own cards from highlighted text and user-created notes.

This is just the beginning of textbooks in the iBookstore and I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.

So now Apple’s education event is over and the dust has settled and we have iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U, and there seems to be a bit of a mixed reaction.

Some people think Apple is spearheading a new generation of in-depth, interactive, learning tools to bring textbooks and classrooms into the next generation. Others think Apple has once again created a proprietary platform to once again exert draconian control over and increase platform lock-in.

Some people think Apple has created an alternative to the expensive, outdated, antiquated books students used to have to lug around. Others think Apple sucks for not offering $12 iPads to go along with it.

We’ll be back to give you our collective opinions later, but right now it’s your turn, iMore Nation. What do you think of Apple’s educational offerings?

Apple has posted the full education event keynote video on its website and placed it on iTunes for download. The keynote video covers all of today’s education announcements including iBooks 2, iTunes U and iBooks Author for Mac.

If you subscribe to Apple Keynote podcasts in iTunes you should find it there when you refresh. If you don’t want to watch it via iTunes, there is also a stream available on their website via the link below.

• iTunes link
• Apple.com link.  

For today only, the iMore Store has the Belkin ProFit for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 on sale for only $19.95!. Get them before they’re gone!

Get the Belkin ProFit for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 now!

Nike has announced the Nike+ Fuelband which gives iPhone users in-depth information on their daily physical activity. With development assistance from the likes of Lance Armstrong, Kevin Durant and Carmelita Jeter, the Nike+ Fuelband is able to keep track of your daily physical goals using a built-in accelerometer. The user sets a daily goal in the morning, and Fuelband tracks time, steps, burned calories and more.

One aspect I like about Fuelband is the ability to gain points from more activity based on a social metric after syncing with your iPhone.

The Nike+ Fuelband will be available for $150 and pre-orders are now being taken online, however Nike hasn’t disclosed an official release date.

Source: Nike+ Fuelband

Following Apple’s iBooks Author announcement today, word started to circulate that content made with Apple’s app could only be sold in Apple’s iBookstore. Authors could freely distribute their work, but they couldn’t sell it elsewhere.

After digging through the licensing PDF, Leanna thinks she might have found the pesky paragraph in question, namely, section 2.B.(ii).

If your Work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or service), you may only distribute the Work through Apple and such distribution is subject to the following limitations and conditions: (a) you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary) before any commercial distribution of your Work may take place; and (b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.

It wouldn’t be unusual for Apple to exert this level of control over content, but that doesn’t make it any the less irksome. Given the pushback they faced following subscriptions, if this isn’t an error from the outset, Apple will need to walk it back and soon.

Following up on the education event in New York, Apple has posted an instructional video for the new iBooks Author app available in the Mac App Store.

The video goes over some of the default templates Apple has included, as well as some of the more fluid user-interface elements like drag-and-drop, widgets and deep customization options. One thing I noticed was the built-in accessibility options Apple has included, which makes creating books that people with disabilities can read and experience much easier. You can also preview your book on the iPad to make sure it looks just the way you want it to look.

All in all, the video is very educational and details most of the functionality included in iBooks Author. Check it out!

Source: Apple

No doubt there will be a lot of questions about iBooks Author, and in anticipation of many of those, Apple has posted a FAQ in their knowledge base to address some of the most common. Entries include:

How can I distribute my work? How do I publish my book on iTunes U? How do I publish my book on the iBookstore? I'm an educator. Is course material I create and provide to my students as part of a tuition-based course considered a work I'm selling? I'm an educational institution. Are course materials that I may provide to students as part of a tuition fee considered a work I'm selling? I'm an author (or publisher). Can I distribute this work on my own website? Can I distribute works created with iBooks Author as part of a product or service that charges a subscription-based fee?

iBooks Author for Mac OSX can create eBooks for digital distribution through the iBookstore and is made to work with applications like Pages, Keynote and Word.

• Free – Mac App Store Link

Source: Apple

Following their education event held in New York where iBooks 2 and textbooks were announced, Apple has gone ahead and released iTunes 10.5.3 to the masses. As noted in the change log, this release covers the ability to sync interactive iBook textbooks to your iPad:

What’s new in iTunes 10.5.3

iTunes 10.5.3 allows you to sync interactive iBooks textbooks to your iPad. These Multi-Touch textbooks are available for purchase from the iTunes Store on your Mac or from the iBookstore included with iBooks 2 on your iPad.

iBooks textbooks are created with iBooks Author — now available as a free download on the Mac App Store. For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

The update is currently showing on the Apple website and should start rolling out through software updates shortly.

Source: 9to5Mac; Via: Apple

Fresh from the Apple Education event, Apple has posted the video they showed off highlighting iBooks 2 and their new Textbooks initiative. It starts off with teachers and educators railing against everything wrong about traditional textbooks — they’re expensive, heavy, immediately outdated. Then they go into full iPad sell mode. Fast and fluid navigation, beautiful graphics, and better, easier note taking.

We’ll add the YouTube embed when it’s available but for now, hit the link below and enjoy.

Source: Apple in Education

Today, Apple has been making a bunch of education-related announcements, and one of them is a new app for iTunes U. iTunes U was where recorded university classes were shared on Apple’s media portal. The iPad and iPhone app will include lots of helpful stuff, like professor’s office hours,  class syllabus, access to class materials (including books, apps, documents, web links), teachers can post messages to students, including video and images. During class, students can use the app to take notes, as well as access textbooks. The app can also be used to deliver assignments.

Some big universities are already in on the program, including Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cornell, Berkeley, and lots of others. iTunes U for iPhone and iPad is available for free starting today.

• Free – App Store Link

Source: Apple iTunes U page

Apple has announced iBooks 2 at their education event in New York and to kick things off in the iBookStore will be high school books. Partnering with such providers as Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt — Apple has laid out their pricing plans for high school books. Starting free and moving upward to $14.99, high school books will be available for one-click purchase, always updated and students get to keep their copy.

Apple has noted they will be working with additional partners as they go along to help broaden the range of available books, but the selection within the iBookStore is already starting to fill up even with available offerings.

Apple has announced iBooks Author at the education event in New York. iBooks Author will allow you to create books within Mac OS X for digital distribution through the iBookstore.

You can select from a number of templates already created for you or import your existing content. iBooks Author is made to compliment and work nicely with applications such as Word, Pages, and Keynote. You can even turn Keynote presentations into widgets within your book.

iBooks Author will be available today as a free download in the Mac App Store.

Free – Mac App Store Link

Apple has announced iBooks 2 at their education event in New York. With this comes the edition of a new Textbooks section in the iBookstore. You’ll be able to search for textbooks in the same way you currently find all your other books or apps. One click purchase is available as well as a free sample of the book.

The iBooks update is available today as a free download from the App Store.

Free – App Store Link

Today, Apple held their education event in New York, and one of their announcements was iBooks 2, and update on their book store which sets textbooks in the iPad’s sights. The goal was to create portable, durable, interactive, searchable and current textbooks that still include all the great content. Some of the first demos today showed a biology textbook with graphical table of contents, interactive 3D models of cells, along with all of the usual full text. Publishers will have full control over content layout, and even be able to remotely update the text as needed.

Textbooks can include quick shortcuts to glossaries and dictionaries, so you can quickly figure out foreign terms. There’s going to be full-text search with auto-completed suggestions for when you’re looking for a particular passage. Textbooks in iBooks 2 will even include little quizzes, to make sure you’ve absorbed the content from the last chapter. You can also include custom-made flash cards and notes to build your own quizzing scheme.

Not sure if you want a particular iBook? They’re going to offer free samples so you can take a peek inside. iBooks may be a little on the large side… Some that we’ve seen are over 1 GB, so odds are you’ll only be downloading and syncing these over Wi-Fi. Textbooks are available starting today in their own dedicated section of the iBooks store, with prices being $14.99 or less. Wow, that’s a hell of a lot cheaper than textbooks in my day. Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin and Harcourt are just some of the initial publishing partners.

The event is ongoing, so more information will be posted here as it happens. Be sure to follow our live commentary here! If you haven’t downloaded or updated iBooks yet, you can find the latest version live in iTunes here. Full changelog after the jump!

Introducing iBooks 2 — now with iBooks textbooks.

• Experience gorgeous Multi-Touch textbooks designed for iPad
• iBooks textbooks are filled with interactive features, diagrams, photos, and videos
• Tap to dive into images with interactive captions, rotate 3D objects, swipe through image galleries, watch videos in full screen, and more
• Use a finger as a highlighter when swiping over text in a textbook
• Take advantage of Study Cards to help you memorize important highlights, notes, and glossary terms
• Tap glossary terms to see definitions of key topics and concepts without leaving the page

The iBookstore offers textbooks on Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, and Physics from McGraw-Hill and Pearson. These textbooks are currently available to customers in the United States. Textbooks from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are coming soon.

iBooks textbooks are created with iBooks Author — now available as a free download on the Mac App Store.

• iBooks – Free – App Store Link

• iBooks Author – Free – Mac App Store Link

While we’ve been referring to Apple’s next generation iPad as iPad 3, according to 9to5Mac Chinese accessory maker Chinee has gone and gambled on iPad 2S — not only the name, but the form factor as well, producing what might just be the first case for the unannounced, unspecified tablet.

Case producer "Chinee" of China has begun selling cases for a device that it called "iPad 2S." The name obviously stems from the name iPhone 4S, where the S notes an internal technical specification update rather than a re-design. Based on previous "iPad 3″ rumors, the new tablet will follow that naming convention. The new iPad is rumored to look identical to the iPad 2, but it will be slightly thicker. The seller of these "iPad 2S" cases said its new products fit a design that is 1MM thicker than the iPad 2′s form-factor. The case maker also claimed such design knowledge came from sources within Apple's supply chain.

Having your accessory ready to go on launch day can make for much higher profits, but if they end up banking on the wrong form-factor — something that happened with iPhone 5 cases last year — it can cost them a bundle.

Even betting on a name on the packaging — iPad 2S in the case — can be a risk. The “S” in Apple iOS device marketing usually used to reduce expectations and push-back when new devices don’t look as significantly updated as their internals suggest, like the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S.

With a 2048×1536 resolution Retina display boost, would Apple really call their 3rd generation iPad an iPad 2S?

Brookstone is set to launch an iPad specific hardware scanner in February. The scanner has been designed for the road warrior that no longer wants or needs to carry around a laptop, but needs to regularly scan documents on the go .

Our iConvert Scanner for iPad and iPad 2 Tablets scans hard copies to JPEG files directly to your tablet, giving you instant e-copies of your most important documents. The JPEG files are automatically stored in the picture folder. Great for use at home, the office and on the go. The entire scanner is sized to take with you in your messenger bag or backpack.

The scanner has a front document feeder tray which adjusts to accommodate documents from 2 inches to 8.5 inches wide. The scanner works with a free app which will be available from the App Store on launch. The iConvert Scanner will be available in early February and will cost $149.99. With so many software based scanners already available for the iPad 2, it is hard to see where this scanner will fit in. Unless of course you need high quality scans on the  move or have the original iPad without the camera.

Source: Brookstone

Today at 10am ET, 7am PT, 3pm GMT Apple will be holding their education event in New York City, and we’ll be following on meta-live blog style, adding our commentary and offering color and analysis, right here on iPhone & iPad Live! Pre-game show will start roughly 15 minutes before the big event. If you haven’t already, go leave us your predictions before the show starts. Then hurry back here to experience it all with us!

No word yet on Apple streaming the event, which means they probably won’t be. Sigh.

Want to enjoy the show on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? Be sure to download the Ustream app App Store link, and then search for “MobileNations”.

Click/tap here to enter chat

Feed That Dragon HD is a physics puzzler for the iPad. You have received orders from the king to be in charge of feeding the royal dragon. You don’t want to get too close to him, however, so you must arrange various obstacles in a way that bounces and directs the food you launch to the dragon.

I’m really enjoying this game. I’ve always been a fan of casual, physics-based games, and Feed That Dragon is no exception.

The King’s orders are clear. You are in charge of feeding the royal pet: That BIG Dragon.

His appetite is endless and so is the FUN you’ll have as you go though each level in this feeding extravaganza. It’s guaranteed hours of endless FUN for you, your family and friends!

Key Features:

• Incredibly fun levels
• Mind blowing puzzles
• Gorgeous graphics
• Premium quality music and sound effects
• Day time, Afternoon and Night themes
• Excellent replay value
• Game Center Leaderboards
• Endless fun!
• That BIG Dragon!

Feed That Dragon HD is available on the iPad for $2.99.

• App Store link

Have an app you’d love to see featured on iMore? Email us at iosapps@imore.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

“From kitchen to office to bedroom, the Spiderarm holds your iPad in almost any position, at almost any angle, making it the perfect companion for reading, watching, and working.”

The Spiderarm is an enormously cool articulated stand for the iPad. While it might look like something out of Terminator, this decidedly non-robotic stand is composed of several sections, combined together with a ball joints that is both easy to move and solid enough to stay in place.

I love the spiderarm and use it all the time. I even use it to keep track of the chat room during our live podcast shows. You can vary the amount of sections you use to change the length of the Spriderarm. You can also choose between clamping it somewhere convenient but non-permanent, or screwing it into a wall for the long term.

The ball joint connects to the frame that holds your iPad in place and offers pretty much 360 degrees of movement so not only can you get the arm itself positioned just the way you want, your can angle the iPad to avoid reflections and create the best reading or viewing angle possible. Just tighten the joint to hold it in place, loosen to get it moving again.

The good

• Can be mounted in a multitudes of places
• Ball joints are solid, move easily, and stay where you put them
• Holds your iPad so you don’t have to!

The Bad

• Due to the length, it can shake when you move it
• Because it clamps or screws in, moving it can be more involved.

Conclusion

From kitchen to office to bedroom, the Spiderarm holds your iPad in almost any position, at almost any angle, making it the perfect companion for reading, watching, and working.

$79.99 – Buy now

The giveaway

Leave a comment below to enter to win a FREE Spiderarm of your very own!

Wondering how to save time and effort entering common information like your name, email address, or phone number? The good news is iOS 5 has a special feature called "Shortcuts" that lets you define a word or phrase to a key combination. Follow along and we will show you how easy it is to setup and how it can save you a lot of time too:-

• Go to Settings

 

• Click on General

 

• You will now see a predefined shortcut which is triggered by typing omw
• Click on Add New Shortcut

• Type in a username, email address or phrase you use a lot
• Now choose a letter combination to trigger the shortcut

• Hit Save and that’s stored for future use
• Add as many as you like

• When you are finished you will see a list of your shortcuts under General>Keyboard
• Now open up an app that you can type into, we will use Notes
• Type in the shortcut for one of your phrases, you will see the whole phrase open up in a bubble below

 

 

“With LiveScore for iPhone you will know about every goal, yellow card, red card, substitution, you name it, seconds after they happen.”

LiveScore is a fantastic, free app for iPhone or iPod touch that provides real time scores from many sporting events around the world including tennis, hockey, and cricket; with a particular emphasis on soccer scores (or, more properly, football scores to those of us outside the U.S.). If you’re deeply invested in a certain league or a specific game but can’t be there to watch it unfold, LiveScore is the best way to follow along, right on your iPhone, from where ever you may be.

The LiveScore app for iPhone (and iPad, it’s universal) comes directly from LiveScore Ltd., the inventors of real-time sports data delivery, and owners of the no.1 ranked football / soccer web site globally. That means they know what they’re doing, and you can trust them to do it well.

There are no push notifications, which is a shame. LiveScore does auto-refresh when open, however, and it’s fast. Very fast. You get the scores you want, as they happen, with nothing to get in your way or unnecessarily complicate the experience.

There are country restrictions and, as I mentioned at the beginning, LiveScore is free and the developer says it will stay that way. (Although they do promise additional features in the future will be available via in-app purchase.

The good

• Every soccer (football) match in the UK league is covered along with most other countries.
• Also includes scores for other sports if you follow more than soccer.

The bad

• No push notifications.

The conclusion

With LiveScore you will know about goals, yellow cards, red cards, substitutions, you name it, seconds after they happen.

Free – Download