Prior to forming my startup, I worked with an educational book publisher (low level books; K-8) for about 10 years. I continue to meet and consult with their ma

Prior to forming my startup, I worked with an educational book publisher (low level books; K-8) for about 10 years. I continue to meet and consult with their marketing director/production manager on occasion, because I enjoy their business so much. I can tell you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the factors listed in this article will have little to do with whether Apple disrupts the textbook industry. The purchasing process in education is unlike any other I've seen. The evaluative process is run by educators, not technology people. Many in the process really don't have any clue about what they're buying. They've already spent millions of dollars on very expensive "closed" systems. Further more, there aren't a lot of open systems even available. That's not the way education vendors work. Look at SMART (makers of the SMARTBoard). They have a lockdown end-to-end on everything from tools to content, they're crazy expensive, and completely proprietary. Even with my experience selling to schools & libraries, I couldn't tell you if Apple will be successful disrupting the textbook industry. School buyers deal with a large number of stakeholders, and the decisions are made based on what's hot now. Apple has tremendous awareness, and there are certainly buyers for whom that will play a factor, but predicting success in the education market is far from easy.