This is what educators have been waiting for. I have written before about the limitations of ePub and what was needed before it became viable for teachers. This is coming close. There does seem to still be some limitations to page layout - I would like to see the ability to make images backgrounds in some areas, more sidebar features and the ability for more external links for textbooks. Having said this, the example shown is far more appealing visually, especially to students - the consumer. Have a look, see what you think.
Walrus Epub demo #3 from Walrus Books on Vimeo.
The most impressive ebooks on the iPad aren’t ebooks at all, but dedicated iOS apps. With the power of HTML5, CSS3, Javascript and ePUB3, though, there’s no reason that has to be the case at all: you can put together a truly interactive, animated ebook right within iBooks.
Check out this awesome look at the iBook put together by Walrus Books for the upcoming Lovecraftian tomeKadath: The Guide To The Unknown City. Not only does it feature interactive maps, embedded fonts, integrated pop-ups and more, but it even has its own in-book meta game and version of in-app purchases.
This is super cool. I wish we saw more iBooks like this, but unfortunately, it seems like most publishers design their ebooks for the lowest common denominator platform — the Kindle.