Apple intends to slowly wrest control of the book publishing industry from Amazon, by providing the tools and cloud interface for authors to create and then market their books directly to readers. In other words, I think Apple will reinvent the textbook industry as a stepping stone to eventually reinventing the entire publishing industry.
Amazon appears untouchable for book sales for now. Authors currently do their own marketing and distribution, while Amazon offers help with their efforts for a price. Cult of Mac suggests that Apple’s announcement will focus on making the world of digital publishing more attractive to authors. Think “GarageBand for eBooks”, according to Ars Technica’s sources. The entire industry seems to agree that Apple is ready to lead the way into a new frontier of digital textbooks through the iBookstore. There is not that much detail on what Apple has planned, but this announcement could be a big deal for Apple in the long run.