Apple’s new iBooks 3.0 update available now with iCloud purchases in library, sharing, scrolling theme and more

Apple has released its updated version of iBooks, bringing it to 3.0. The latest version, which is available on the App Store now, features a scrolling theme that allows you to ‘flick’ through your books vertically, as well as improved iCloud support and more.

The updated iBooks adds the ability to see all purchased books right in the bookshelf, letting you view previous books from iCloud directly and open them seamlessly. This is similar in execution to Amazon’s cloud downloads in its Kindle app for iPad, if a bit smoother as it displays them all as one big library. This should allow for books to be updated on the fly with corrections and re-downloaded as well, a common complaint with the Kindle store where getting corrected editions is a pain in the butt.

There is now a new ‘Scroll’ theme that allows you to infinitely scroll your books, rather than being forced to view them in paginated form. This makes it easier to scoot through books at your own pace and does away with the forced adherence to the physical book paradigm. The continuous scrolling still does insert breaks at chapters though.

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The sharing options are also welcome as I often find myself wanting to post a particular passage on a social network while reading Kindle books. Something to note: if you have side-loaded books, make sure they have all of their metadata intact, or you’ll get tweets that make no sense.

Here are the updates:

• See all your iBookstore purchases in iCloud—right on your bookshelf with iOS 6
• Scroll vertically through your books with the flick of a finger using the new Scroll theme
• Receive free updates to purchased books—including new chapters, corrections, and other improvements
• Look up definitions for words in German, Spanish, French, Japanese and Simplified Chinese with iOS 6
• Share quotes or thoughts about your favorite book with friends on Facebook, Twitter, Messages, or Mail

iBooks 3.0