The future of reading?

It's been a long time coming, but I think I've finally seen the first evidence that electronic books might be about to arrive. I know that technically they've been a round a long time, but there's been one thing missing: A good portable device to read them on, preferably one that can access the publication directly from the Internet, rather than requiring a cable, and one that's easy and even fun to use.

There have been plenty of previous attempts, ranging from documents read on computer through to those read on a PDA. But all these devices were heavy or bulky or inelegant to use or, as I wrote last January, failed the bathtub test: They're too expensive to risk dropping into the bath while you're soaking.

A new device solves all those problems, apart from the bathtub test, so it suggests a way forward. The Apple iPod Touch is a small, lightweight touch-screen driven device that, among other things, can access the Internet wirelessly. It's essentially an iPhone without the phone, which immediately makes me more interested in it.

The iPod Touch is too small to become a real-life electronic reading device like those I mentioned at the end of my January post, but a larger version might be. There are rumours that Apple is working on one that could be around the size of a book (but much thinner) that would either be a revived Newton or a tablet-style Mac. If they made it bathtub-proof, too, it could be the device I've been saying was necessary before “e-publishing” could ever really take off.

However, Apple has been roundly (and rightly) criticised for the way they locked-up the iPhone in an attempt to control both consumer choice and developer contribution. Apple has been stupid.

If Apple really does release a larger device, it won't become the reading device of the future unless they treat it like a Mac, and not like an iPhone. Openness is key. If they get it right, it could be the iPod of reading. If they don't, it'll just be the latest in the long line of failed attempts. I'll certainly be waiting, and reading, to see what happens.