ibooks_iconIn Apple's ongoing antitrust case with the Department of Justice, Apple's SVP of internet software and services Eddy Cue once again took the stand today, where he revealed several small tidbits about Steve Jobs and the launch of iBooks.

According to AllThingsD, Cue told the court that Jobs was highly involved in the creation of Apple's iBookstore, coming up with several of the features found in the app.

- The "page curls" in the iBook app, which show up when you flip an iBook's page? That's Steve Jobs's idea.

- It was Jobs's idea to pick ""Winnie-the-Pooh" as the freebie book that came with every iBook app. Not just because Jobs liked the book, Cue said, but because it showed off iBook's capabilities: “It had beautiful color drawings, that had never been seen before in a digital book."

- Jobs was also specific about the book he used to show off the iBook during his initial iPad demo in January 2010. He picked Ted Kennedy's "True Compass" memoir, because the Kennedy family "meant a lot to him," Cue said.

Over the course of the trial, the Department of Justice has argued that Apple colluded with book publishers to drive up the cost of e-books while Apple maintains its innocence. The DOJ has seen several weak links in its case over the course of the last week, after Apple refuted a partially composed email and a DOJ-called Google exec offered questionable testimony. Closing arguments for the trial are set for Thursday.

Top Rated Comments

Eminemdrdre00 Avatar
165 months ago
I wonder if those page curls will go away when iBooks gets updated for iOS 7? There were some things about the old skeuomorphism designs that didn't bother me as much as most people. That was one of them.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mohammad Ridwan Avatar
165 months ago
I hope Jony Ive doesn't ******* this app up too...
Page curl is my favorite feature of iBooks.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
165 months ago
^^ agreed. Not everything that makes it look realistic is "bad".
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
165 months ago
Darn, I was hoping for some large tidbits.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimTheEnchanter Avatar
165 months ago
I guess the real question is what will happen to the wooden bookshelf?

Jonathan already bought a new one from IKEA. ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
165 months ago
I wonder if those page curls will go away when iBooks gets updated for iOS 7? There were some things about the old skeuomorphism designs that didn't bother me as much as most people. That was one of them.

The effect is familiar, iconic, and everyone expects it in all ereaders. It's also optional already. I expect it to stay.

Same for the GarageBand instruments; menus/chrome may change, but a lot of the UI should stay looking like an instrument.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...