There has been a lot of speculation as to when Amazon will release the next update of its hugely successful Kindle reader. The Kindle 2 reader launched in February 2009, a year and 3 months after the release, in November 2007, of the original Kindle. If the gap between upgrades was to be maintained, then the Kindle 2 which is now little more than a year old, should be due for an update in the fairly near future.

Since the Kindle, assisted by the DX version which was released in June of 2009, was launched, a lot of new readers from a variety of manufacturers have hit the market and user choice has increased. As well as dedicated e-book readers such as the Sony Daily Edition and the Nook from Barnes and Noble, the new Apple iPad is considered by many to be a potential threat to the Kindle as it includes, among its various functions, the ability to function as an e-book reader. In short, considering both its age and the increased competition from new readers, many of which boast additional features and functionality, the Kindle 2 is due for an upgrade fairly soon.

Which begs the question – what new features might Amazon consider including in a new upgraded model? No doubt Amazon will have some surprises up their sleeve – but this acquisition seems to give a clue to at least one new function that we may expect to feature in future Kindle models.

Amazon have acquired Touchco, a small start-up company who specialise in touch sensitive display technology. The technology is somewhat different to other touch screen displays currently available.It uses interpolating force sensitive resistance technology – which, unlike traditional capacitance-based touch screen technology, may be totally transparent. It is suitable for use with e-ink technology and colour displays. It is also, according to the New York Times, considerably cheaper than the capacitive type of touch screen used in the iPod and the iPad

Touchco were a spin off from a project at New York University’s Media Research Lab. They are believed to have a maximum of 6 employees. The technology, although well advanced, was still very much a research project and no commercial application using it had been released at the time of Amazon’s take over.

The Touchco technology could possibly be used to produce Kindles with touch sensitive controls and colour screens. The possibility of a more versatile Amazon Kindle, with a variety of different uses – not unlike Apple’s iPad – very definitely exists. Perhaps this will not be included with the next release of the Kindle – but it is a distinct possibility at some point in the future. Even so, this purchase by Amazon looks like a clear declaration of intent regarding the direction that the Kindle reader technology may take in future.

There’s a lot of interest in electronic devices which fulfil a number of different functions these days. Phones which have cameras, can surf the web, play music and act as satellite navigation devices are good examples of these “fusion” gadgets.

Perhaps the best example is the iPod. It’s a phone, music player, internet browser and has a huge variety of “Apps” which can range from games to restaurant recommendations. It even has a Kindle app which allows users to read Kindle books on their iPod.

The Kindle reader itself could be considered to be a multi-functional device. Apart from its primary function as an e-book reader, it can be used to surf the web. Admittedly, the functionality is somewhat limited, primarily due to its display which is monochrome and not suited to displaying video due to a relatively slow refresh rate.

On the other side of the coin, it is the Kindle’s e-ink technology display which makes it so much more pleasant to read on than either a computer screen or the iPod. Due to the fact that it is not back-lit, it produces much less eye strain in use than using a standard LCD type of monitor.

A further advantage of e-ink technology displays is the fact that they only require power when the screen is being rewritten. The significance of this is that e-book readers can go for lengthy periods on a single battery charge. It’s the perfect scenario for a battery operated portable item. Typically, e-book readers can last for several thousand “page turns” between charges. For the average reader, that will equate to anything between four and six weeks of use.

So, the very thing that makes e-book readers such ideal devices to reading books on – the e-Ink display – is placing a limitation on their ability to perform other tasks, such as video display or surfing the web. It can only be a matter of time until color e-Ink technology displays begin to appear, and with a much faster refresh rate. Hardware devices like the Kindle will then become better video players and web browsers.

For the moment, considering the fact that e-book readers are the hot, “must have” gadget right now, it does appear that there is very much a place for specialist devices which do only one job. Just so long as, like the Amazon Kindle, they do that one job very well.

Apple has, after what must have seemed a long wait to many, finally put their new tablet computer on display. It’s been given the name of iPad and has, somewhat predictably perhaps, been given a mixed reception. Some think that it’s just an outsize iPod Touch. Others predict that it will be the death of the netbook, the notebook and the e-book reader.

In particular, the iPad has, for some considerable time now, been hailed as the “Kindle Killer”. Which is, in one way strange as the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad are two very different devices, and yet, in another way, somehow inevitable. They are currently the two hottest gadgets on the market (or they will be when the iPad starts shipping at the end of March). The fact that they are brought to market by two of the world’s largest and most successful corporations is a factor.

The Kindle is a specialist. It performs one job, being a dedicated e-book reader, extremely well. In addition to being a great e-book reader it greatly simplifies the process of buying and taking receipt of books very effectively. On the other hand the iPad is a verstaile Jack of all trades. Its color screen is great for browsing the web, playing games, playing video and, of course, you can also use it as a music player and access the vast library of Apple “Apps”.

The Kindle is such a great e-book reader for a number of reasons. One of the most important is its e-ink technology display. This gives the user a reading experience which is really very similar to reading normal typed text printed on paper and is much more comfortable than reading on a back-lit LCD display. It needs very liitle power to operate, especially with the wireless facility turned off – so it can last for lengthy periods between charges. However, the e-ink display, which is such a great feature for an e-book reader, is monochrome and has a pretty slow refresh rate – which means that it’s poor, or completely non-functional, for use as a web browser or video player.

The iPad’s great color display makes it perfect to surf the internet, watch video or play games. On the other hand, the back-lit screen produces more eye strain than the Kindle display and it has a relatively short battery life of only ten hours.

The fact is that the Kindle is far superior as an e-book reader to the iPad – but it is unlikely, even in its next incarnation, to ever be used as anything other than a backup web browser – suitable only for very occasional use. Apple’s iPad is very definitely a multi-functional device. Apart from its performance as an e-book reader, there will probably be other specialised devices that can perform some of its other tasks more efficiently. If you want a specialist device or if you feel that the increased versatility of the iPad is more than enough to compensate for less than ideal performance in all areas will be the determining factor in deciding which device you choose.

The iPad is, quite frankly, not a patch on the Kindle when considered as an e-book reader. However, even after its next upgrade (possibly early in 2010) the Kindle will not be suitable for anything other than basic and infrequent surfing. There may very well be other specialist devices which can, is selected areas, perform better than the iPad. Which device you choose will be determined by your preparedness to sacrifice a small amount of performance for a lot of versatility and the convenience of a multi-functional device.