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The next wave of that impact won't come from iBooks 3 or the new version of iBooks Author, which are both nice, but relatively minor updates. If anything from Tuesday's event will help push digital textbook adoption forward, it's the hardware. Specifically, the iPad Mini. By offering a $329 tablet, Apple suddenly made iPad adoption notably more affordable for cash-strapped school districts. Apple also released the fourth generation 10-inch iPad, which should help drive down the price of the company's older devices as well. 

Whitepapers from Apple including a new iOS deployment guide

Tim Cook said there are 2,500 classrooms using iBooks textbooks right now, which Madan says is still a relatively small number. He does expect, however, for that to increase in the coming years. As schools allocate money to set up computer labs with limited funds, many find they can do it for less with iPads. The 'computer lab' has become the "iPad lab" and the lower price of the iPad mini helps even more.

Hawaii's proposed budget for the next biennium, which the Ed Board approved last week, calls for spending more than $14 million next fiscal year and about $22 million the following year to buy laptops and tablets for students.

"It's that last part that intrigues me, however. I know that many, many families and schools will be hard-pressed to digest even the 16 GB Wi-Fi model at $329 in K-12 --  educational discounts notwithstanding. As we know, Mr. Cook likes to brag about how well the iPads are doing in schools, but two factors remain missing: a really affordable price and strong corporate initiatives in the K-12 marketplace. Is Apple missing an opportunity?"