NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A U.S. software developer says the iPad and similar tablet computers have all the makings of a breakthrough in the adoption of digital college textbooks.

Matt MacInnis, founder of Inkling, told The Wall Street Journal that the devices are capable platforms for Inkling's color-and-video rich e-textbook software.

"Our bet is that those tablets will change the way people consume content," said MacInnis, a former employee of iPad developer Apple, Inc.

The Journal said Inkling and similar software products take full advantage of the iPad's touch screen and its ability to run video, 3-D imagery and take down user notes that can be shared in real time.

If MacInnis is right, the stage may be set for a significant change in the e-textbook market, which has been making steady but surprisingly slow progress among tech-savvy students.

The Journal said Saturday that the use of e-textbooks by college students has lagged behind the adoption of commercial e-books. Part of the problem has been the text-only formats of mass-market readers that can't accommodate graphs and other textbook illustrations.