iBooks Unleashed!

In late August, 2010 an update to Apple's Pages application introduced the ability to easily export documents you create to  ePub, the primary file format used in iBooks on iPods, iPhones, and iPads.  This is a powerful feature that was, unfortunately, limited by the iTunes sync cable as only way to get your content to an iOS device.  That probably worked fine if you were just moving your own content to your own devices, but if you were looking to distribute to a larger audience--there just really wasn't a convenient way.

December 15th, 2010 saw the advent of iBooks 1.2 for iOS devices.  Color illustrations, collections, printing, and email were the new features that received the top billing.  Unheralded, however, is the new ability to bring documents directly into iBooks through a web link.

1. Place an ePub document on a web server.
2. Publish a link to the document.
3. Have anyone with iBooks 1.2 click on that link in Safari for iOS.
4. After the file has downloaded, the user will be asked if they wish to have the file moved into iBooks.
5. If the affirmative option is chosen, the document is transferred into the user's iBooks library for future use (even in the absence of a network connection).

Why is this significant?  Your content can now be easily and conveniently distributed to as large an audience of iOS users as you would like.  No iBooks Store, iTunes, or even any other type of computer is needed.  Business, education, and government institutions can create their own web-based storehouses of their own documents; all ready to be quickly loaded by users onto portable iOS devicesfor future reading and/or reference.

If you would like to try downloading a document directly into your iOS iBooks, make sure that you have installed iBooks 1.2 .  Then click on this link ( http://bit.ly/f6X9GG ) in Safari on your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone to download this brief, sample ePub document.

It should also be noted that the exact same capabilities also work for PDF files.  In fact, viewing any PDF document in Safari on an iOS device should present the user with a button to move the document into iBooks.

So use your imagination as to what you might want to create and distribute to your audience of iOS users; anything from boring corporate policy manuals to exciting new fiction to endearing student-created products.