Amazon's e-book reader gadget has often been sized up against Apple's portable media players, a rather futile comparison considering the very different purposes of the devices. However, it looks like this has given Apple an impulse, to add new book reading functionality.

"The Hindustan Times" reports that Apple plans to develop a next-generation widescreen video iPod with a book-reading mode, in order to make print easier to read. The company is also said to have already contacted major publishers around the world, in order to secure their full libraries for use in electronic form. This would allow the company to sell downloadable text versions of bestsellers for reading directly from iPods.

Such a move would undoubtedly place Apple in direct competition with Amazon, which would have the long-term effect of making the book-reading solutions, from both companies, better and more user friendly. However, it is highly unlikely that Apple would actually go out and make an entirely different device for this specific purpose. Instead, it is much more likely that the existing gadgets would be able to instantly offer the functionality via a software patch.

While this functionality itself would likely not be that difficult to add, none of the current iPods is actually made for this kind of task, but the additional functionality would certainly be a boon, rather than having to carry around an entirely different device. As such, the real issue here is content, and Apple would need a lot of it in order to actually make an impact.

Another key issue is the approach to DRM, as many are likely not to take well to a system where their books are locked into their devices, and support for content from other online sellers, such as Amazon itself, would be a huge boon.

Amazon has undoubtedly taken the first steps towards portable book reading, but if anyone can offer a better solution, it is Apple.