Apple revealed plans at Guggenheim Museum in New York to work extensively with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson, some of the largest textbook publishers to fill its online bookstore.  Books from the three publishers are now available in new version of Apple's iBooks for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Apple's move aims to made iPad into a more portable, more interactive alternative to traditional textbooks, including constant updates, provided all at the price of $499.  Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing chief, said that most of the books will be priced at $14.99 or less.

In addition, Apple released iBook Author, a free software that can be downloaded to its Macintosh line of computers.  The software enables faster creations of electronic books that include interactive photos, 3D objects, and other high-capacity digital outputs.

Apple has also revamped its 'iTune U' software, which is now widely used by educators for distributing their lectures.  The newly added features will help educators to better digitalize their lectures.

Apple's plan will likely disrupt the traditional textbook market despite that major textbook publishers are participating in iBook Author and its new bookstore.  Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps wrote on her blog Thursday that the move will likely cause an "avalanche of new companies and new content for the education market." She wrote that smaller companies will likely benefit from the change and reveal the best innovations in the market, not the large publishers.