macotakara_ipod_touch_2012_mockupAs the new hardware refresh comes ever closer, the Apple iDevice rumors grow ever thicker. Here’s a couple of choice ones with e-reading implications.

MacRumors has a report suggesting that the iPod Touch will get an update to a new 4” design right along with the iPhone. (The picture at left is a mock-up of what this iPod Touch might look like.) It will have a “buffed aluminum” rear shell, and apart from the camera there will be another hole in the case, at the center near the bottom. It’s not clear what this hole would be for.

Meanwhile, TechCrunch has heard from an analyst about the new 4.08” display iPhone, and the 7.85” display iPad Mini, complete with sales estimates. The analyst guesses these products will hit the street in September, though TechCrunch is careful to emphasize this is just a guess.

Needless to say, any of these devices will make great e-readers. I’m personally excited by the news of the 4” iPod Touch not so much because I want one myself, but because it will finally drive prices on the 3.5” Retina Display iPod Touch from a couple of years ago further down in Apple’s refurb shop. I don’t really feel any need to possess a 16:9 iPod when I do most of my reading vertically anyway, though I will admit the extra space might be nice for cramming a couple more lines in per screen.

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