Could an iPhone-like iPod revitalize the e-book market?

With all the excitement around the iPhone's release, people are now beginning to wonder what comes next for the iPod line in general that's not the iPhone. Analyst for Piper Jaffrey Gene Munster pointed out not too long ago that the iPhone is a look at what the next refresh of high end iPods will be like: more touch screen media, but without the wireless phone and internet features.

This raises an interesting development, as Teleread points out the e-book industry could take very good advantage of this. A no-phone iPhone would be a multi-media device with a big screen. Already iTunes has the ability to sort, tag, and display PDF files in the same revolutionary and easy-to-use manner as songs. Could this be applied to books and other text media?

The high resolution on the iPhone and large screen would lend itself well to emulating a page, and the simple and easy to use interface could host an e-book program, maybe even through iTunes. Since Apple is hoping to net a million sold, the e-book makers do not have to try and convince the public to buy yet another expensive e-book reader. The iPhone, or the next iPod refresh, will already be out there.