Michael B. Duff

Remember a couple months ago when I wished someone would create iTunes for books?

Looks like the iTunes interface for books may be…iTunes.

Gizmodo suggests that Apple is in talks with publishers McGraw Hill and Oberlin Press about possibly selling textbooks through iTunes.

So what’s the missing ingredient that will make this strategy work? The Apple tablet — a magnificent collection of vaporware promises right now — could bring us a true multimedia reading experience.

Imagine a textbook that includes audio, video, animation and live updated text. Imagine 30,000 Tech students liberated from their backpacks.

Imagine a new kind of magazine, designed specifically for a touch screen.

Done right (high resolution text will be key) a tablet computer could become an ubiquitous multimedia delivery platform. We might even end up with 21st century video phones.