So after much waiting, it seems that the Amazon Kindle may be coming to these shores soon. Anonymous sources have told the Bookseller magazine that the eBook device will be announced in the UK next week — just in time for the Xmas rush.

It does have to be said that eBook readers are starting to catch on. A measure I use to assess whether something is popular is whether I see people on the London Underground with it. A few years ago, the tell-tale white headphone cables of iPods first started to appear, and now I am starting to see the Sony eBook reader — maybe not on every journey, but at least once a week.

However, the Kindle may just be the start. There are rumours flying around that the much talked about Apple tablet might also be some form of eBook reader. The Gizmodo website has been reporting that Apple has being in discussions with publishers about selling content through the Apple iTunes store.

If this is true then a new content battle will start soon. On one side, there will be Amazon with its relationship with the publishers and its online store selling content through very neat but monochrome devices. On the other side, there will be Apple with its proven system of selling content in bite-sized pieces to handheld electronic devices.

It would be a safe bet to assume that an Apple eBook reader will not be a monochrome device – it will be a device that will show you the printed page as it is meant to look and allow you to watch video. Apple has already hinted at a way of distributing printed material with iTunes LP which is a file format that supports song lyrics, liner notes, photos, special features and videos. In the middle will be poor old Sony (again), who will be neither one thing or the other.

And finally – lest we forget – there will be Google. While the Google book deal may be having problems, we have to remember that Google has released Chrome OS,which sounds like an excellent operating system to run on a tablet. Its wish for an open standard may rescue Sony and help others.

So everyone seems to be lining up to ensure that print dies and is replaced by a tablet and an online store. So will the print version of PC Pro go the same way as photographic film next year? Probably not, but I would be surprised if you could thumb through a printed version in the stands at the London Olympics.