Apple Updates iBooks Store With Backend Improvements For Authors And Publishers

Apple has recently made a number of significant changes to the iBooks Store (formerly iBookstore). The changes are enumerated in an email sent by the company to iBooks Store content providers, authors and publishers alike. As noted by AppleInsider, which has obtained a copy of the email, the changes are made up of backend improvements. "While the new features may not be immediately visible to the end user," the website notes, "they will make for an easier and richer shopping experience once implemented by content providers." But if we're going to talk "visible," then the most visible change would have to be the increased pixel limit for in-book images. From 2 megapixels, the limit has been raised all the way to 3.2 megapixels. Note that this pixel limit increase applies only to in-book images, which doesn't include cover art, screenshots, and other images external to the e-book itself. Also included in Apple's iBooks Store enhancements is support for versioning for all books. This enables customers to be notified when a new version of a book becomes available, which may include new content or corrections for typos and other errors. In line with this, authors and publishers, just like iOS app developers, are required to provide release notes detailing what's new in a new version. Below is the full list of improvements recently added by Apple to the iBooks Store:

• New Catalog Reports
• Versioning for All Books
• Updated Documentation
• Pixel Limit Increased for Book Images
• How-To: Deliver Custom Samples
• New European Toll-Free Numbers
• iBooks Author Tips and Tricks: Creating Custom Samples
• Thanksgiving Deliveries

The iBooks Store is accessible in the Books section of the iTunes Store on a desktop computer or in the Store section of the iBooks app on iOS. The Mac version of the app is set to debut on the upcoming OS X Mavericks.

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