Releases from Christian publishers will be among the many books available for Apple's new iPad digital media device, which was unveiled yesterday.

Apple's entry into the book reader market, which is expected to release in March, will work in conjunction with a digital book store-iBooks. Additionally, Apple already has agreements with Hachette Book Group USA, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and Penguin.

Karen Campbell, director of public relations for Zondervan, part of HarperCollins, said all Zondervan product would be available in the iBook store by July. FaithWords, a division of Hachette, would also have titles in iBooks.

Although a deal has not yet been signed, Thomas Nelson is also expected to join the group of Christian publishers with iPad offerings. Lindsey Nobles, director of corporate communications, told Christian Retailing that it's the company's "intention to sign a distribution deal, but we have not yet seen an agreement, nor has Apple shared details regarding implementation."

Mark Kuyper, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, told Christian Retailing that the new device has the potential to be a "game changer" for publishing. At the same time, part of its appeal lies in its ability to allow customers to mobilize other media along with their books.

"I think it's a really significant device in that it brings all of media into one portable unit that people prefer to see their media on instead of a phone," he said. "Where it's different from an e-reader is that e-readers are dedicated devices."

Kuyper also said that unlike the tension regarding the dictated low prices of titles featured on the Amazon Kindle store or other e-book stores, early reports of Apple allowing publishers to set prices for their books in iPad could have "significant ramifications" for the book industry.

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