Like casually spotting the Abominable Snowman behind a Christmas tree, Techcrunch recently confirmed rumors of an iPod Touch with a 7-to-9 inch screen--a revelation that could change the digital book market.

Those dimensions could bring the iPod and iPod Touch's list of e-reading applications to a larger screen, rivaling the 7.5 by 5.3 inch screen on Amazon's popular Kindle e-reader. It could use digital book readers like Lexcycle's Stanza and ScrollMotion, and allow readers to surf the web while reading--powerful Kindle competition. According to the tech blogger's sources, the device will hit stores this Fall.

TeleRead ponders this momentous development: "Will it be good or bad if Apple comes out with the tablet and maybe even dominates the e-book industry? We've seen how Amazon has tried to inflict the Kindle format on the world. Will Apple try to do the same with its own creation or with a DRM ally such as ScrollMotion? Might Apple try to lock out third-party products like Stanza that combine e-reading and distribution infrastructure? And about Apple's censorship of Knife Music?"