Apple announced some cool stuff earlier today at their Education event. Sorry folks, no iPad 3 or iPad 2S, but something that has a lot to do with education. We already knew that this Apple event was all about education and we also had a good feeling that something related to the iPad and textbooks will be announced. Well, the company was proud to present the iBooks 2 iPad application, which brings interactive textbooks to the tablet.

iBooks 2 is similar to the old iBooks app, but also different in some ways. The main goal of the company is to change the education system in the U.S first and then the world. They plan on doing this by introducing interactive text books that do a lot more than regular paper textbooks. Apple spoke a lot about how the iPad is influencing schools, teachers and students to learn more. The company calls this as “Reinventing the textbook”, something that Steve Jobs wanted to do.

Official features of iBooks 2:

• Experience gorgeous Multi-Touch textbooks designed for iPad
• iBooks textbooks are filled with interactive features, diagrams, photos, and videos
• Tap to dive into images with interactive captions, rotate 3D objects, swipe through image galleries, watch videos in full screen, and more
• Use a finger as a highlighter when swiping over text in a textbook
• Take advantage of Study Cards to help you memorize important highlights, notes, and glossary terms
• Tap glossary terms to see definitions of key topics and concepts without leaving the page

Sounds good doesn’t it? Why don’t you try it and tell us if you like it, or if you would prefer digital textbooks over good old paper ones. You can download iBooks 2 from the App Store or update your current version. However, the textbooks are only available and exclusive to the iPad. Apple has also released iTunes 10.5.3 with textbook syncing.

Download iBooks 2 for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.