Today, Amazon spoke about their future plans for the Kindle, their e-book reader device that was introduced in 2007. Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos made comments on a webcast today that the Kindle would remain a focused product.

“The Kindle will compete with these LCD devices like the iPad by being a very focused product. Serious readers are going to want a purpose-built device, because it’s an important activity for them.”

Bezos also deflected any rumors that the Kindle would be moving to color e-ink or LCD technologies soon.

While this may not seem like big news to most, this is actually a pretty significant announcement concerning the immediate future of the Kindle as spectator’s await Amazon’s response to Apple’s iPad.

Amazon does not seem to be falling into the trap that they need to morph the Kindle into a be-all-end-all competitor to the iPad and other tablet computers. Kindle was built to be an e-book reader in its current format. It needs to stay that way. Keeping the Kindle simple, straightforward and doing the few tasks it does really well will continue to appeal to those who just want an e-book reader and nothing more.

There are those who want iPads, the do-it all device. However, is it really smart to spend all that money on an iPad when all a bookworm wants to do is read? iPad is much more than just a reader, it is a minature computer. Still, for a lot of consumers, devices like the iPad may prove to be more than what they actually want.

I am glad that Amazon has chosen not to push Kindle into something it isn’t. Competition is great, and it will continue to compete with the iPad and similar devices – as an e-book reader and nothing more