The Amazon Kindle e-book reader might have only just made it to Britain, but already details of the next generation of readers have emerged. Last week a pair of advanced e-book readers were unveiled in America. Both offer the same ability as the Kindle to download books wirelessly, but they add some significant extras: twin screens, for a start, and on one model at least, proper internet browsing.

The readers announced by Barnes & Noble, the bookshop chain, and Spring Design, an e-book start-up company, each feature a colour touchscreen in addition to the usual monochrome E Ink display.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook reader uses its 3.5in LCD screen to show colour covers of books stored — up to 1,500 of them. The squarer (but still 3.5in) touchscreen on Spring Design’s Alex goes a step further, allowing readers to access search engines or follow internet links straight to websites.

Both new readers come with free 3G and wi-fi data connections. The Nook naturally connects to Barnes & Noble’s online US bookstore, home to more than 1m books; half of these are actually older, out-of-copyright texts sourced from Google’s controversial library-scanning project, and can be downloaded for free.

That’s not the only Google connection. The colour screens on the Nook and the Alex run Google Android, the operating software developed for smartphones. This should mean surfing the web with the Alex is smoother and easier than on the only other reader to offer web access — a basic text browser on the Kindle that does not even work in the UK. The Alex also lets readers send and receive e-mails — and will be upgraded next year to allow phone calls.

While the Nook lacks the Alex’s web-surfing ability, it does have one new feature that sets it apart from all other ebook readers. When you buy an electronic book at the Barnes & Noble store, you can digitally “lend” it to friends or family for up to 14 days, free of charge. They can read it on other Nooks, or on Barnes & Noble’s free ebook reader computer software.

Of course, where Google goes, advertising is rarely far behind. Barnes & Noble admits that if you turn on a Nook in one of its shops, “special offers” — ads, by any other name — will pop up on its screen. Alex is even more ambitious, allowing what Spring Design calls “secondary authors” to add audio snippets, video clips and potentially “buy now” web links to the text of existing books. Reading the latest Dan Brown? You might expect a plug for the DVD of The Da Vinci Code to flash up, for example.

In America, the Nook will cost $259 (£157), the same as Amazon’s entry-level Kindle device, while the Alex has yet to be priced. Both the Nook and Alex are expected to launch stateside before Christmas, with no news on UK versions yet. That might allow a British-designed device to steal a march on its US rivals. The Cambridge-based Plastic Logic has announced its Que proReader will be out next year, and will feature a shatterproof touchscreen, plus 3G and wi-fi connectivity.

Do these devices mean the traditional bookshop has reached its final page? Perhaps not. Barnes & Noble says Nook owners will enjoy extra benefits if they keep visiting its stores. Starting later this year, digital bookworms entering its shops will be able to settle down and read entire e-books free of charge — so no more grimy thumbprints left on the pages for the next potential purchaser.

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