Will the next iPod be an eBook reader as well?

Another day, another rumour

23 July 2006 17:16 GMT / By Stuart Miles

It's like an never ending train, once again weekend web surfing was filled with rumours about about and its next iPod model yet to be announced.

The latest is that the new iPod will also be geared towards allowing you to read ebooks on the go.

The move, if true, is most likely in response to Sony's eBook reader due out later this year and could see the computer company offering eBooks for download via its iTunes Music Store online.

Engadget is reporting "that according to a source at a major publishing house, they were just ordered to archive all their manuscripts -- every single one -- and send them over to Apple's Cupertino HQ."

The weblog backs up the statement with another source saying "the next iPod will have a substantial amount of screen real estate (as we'd all suspected), as well as a book reading mode that pumps up the contrast and drops into monochrome for easy reading."

As the days count down to the Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on 7 August, the rumours about what new iPods Steve Jobs will pull out of his hat are heating up.

The news comes hot on the heels of a host of other rumours about the new player. Earlier in the week, we reported that the other big rumour making the rounds is news of an iPod with wireless functionality so that you can download songs whenever you reach a Wi-Fi hotspot.

engadget.com