Amazon is proving they’re taking rumors of Kindle’s demise less than seriously. In fact, they are proving their commitment to the platform by giving the development team a big present: a touchscreen company!

Yes, it’s everything the Kindle development team wanted and more! Now they can compete with the Sony Touch and Daily Editions on one end, and the iPad on the other! Supposedly the touchscreen has excellent clarity, which is huge if Amazon sticks with e-ink; compare a Sony Touch Edition and a Pocket Edition and it is shocking to see how much the touch overlay can affect the screen.

So what does this mean? Probably nothing at first. We’re not going to see them rush this out tomorrow, but it does mean there is more coming down the pipeline for the Kindle. It opens up the possibilities for a Kindle without a keyboard, for more screen sizes, etc. Of course, the dream would be a Kindle with a touch panel Mirasol screen!

Which also brings me to a minor rant. I can’t even link all the websites asking if the iPad is going to kill the Kindle, or how e-ink is dead, or how Apple is going to own the ebook world. In my view, that’s wildly unlikely. For starters, e-ink has a lot of fans, for various reasons from eyestrain to battery life. Second of all, Amazon has a few years worth of a head start; that means those 3 million plus Kindle owners have libraries in Kindle formats that they aren’t walking away from so quickly. Finally, the only market where Apple arguably dominates above and beyond is music; in cell phones, they hold a huge chunk but there’s room for several companies to succeed. iBooks isn’t even going to be the only ebook store on the iPad!

I do think the iPad will be a success, but I don’t see it being the only ebook game in town next year. Personally, I’m looking forward to see what Amazon brings to the next Kindle!

What about you? What do you think about the ebook market? Are you looking forward to the next Kindle? Share your thoughts below!

(via Engadget)