Ars Technica is reporting that Apple s media event in New York on Thursday won t just be about education partnerships to release textbooks, but that we might also see new tools that are described as GarageBand for e-books.
The new tools are said to make e-book creation much easier than currently available software tools so that writers can more easily write and distribute their books.
In addition to the new tools, the Wall Street Journal suggests that Apple will also unveil new textbooks that are specifically optimized for the iPad. There are also rumors that Apple will announce partnerships with textbook publishers McGraw and Pearson PLC.
If these reports are true, then Apple may intend to revolutionize the e-book market like they did the mobile app market. By including writer-friendly tools and giving those writers a store to distribute and sell their work, Apple could help cut out much of the work and marketing currently necessary to get a book to the masses. Of course, none of this is official, so we ll have to wait until Thursday to find out.