Plastic Logic And Barnes And Noble Form E-Book Alliance

UK based Plastic Logic has now revealed its e-book reader – the Que – which may compete with Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader. The lightweight Que, which incorporates touch screen controls, was put on display at the CES in Las Vegas.

More than ten years of research and development work has gone into the Que at Cambridge University in the UK. The R&D program is estimated to have cost more than $ 200m.

The reader incorporates wireless connectivity using 3G technology and it has a huge black and white screen. The selling price is quite a bit higher than Amazon’s Kindle and, according to Plastic Logic, it is aimed at “mobile professionals”.

There are two models. The 4GB model retails at $ 649 and the 8 GB has a price tag of $ 799. The Kindle 2.0 and the larger Kindle DX (which is probably a closer fit to the Que) sell for $ 259 and $ 489 respectively. The 4GB model has sufficient memory for around 35,000 documents. The 8GB model will hold 75,000 documents – equivalent to 75 filing cabinets.

The Que is, according to Plastic Logic, “more than an eReader”. It has an enormous 10.7″ shatterproof display – currently the largest e-book reader display in the world. Apart from the huge size, the other noteworthy feature of the display is that it is made from plastic rather than glass. This means that it is more durable, lighter and surprisingly flexible.

The device measures 8.5 X 11 X 0.33 inches overall and weighs in at less than a periodical – just under one pound. Having a Que is quite similar to carrying a legal pad around with you.

The fact that the Que is more than an e-book reader hasn’t stopped Plastic Logic agreeing a deal with Barnes and Noble who will furnish electronic books for the device. Partnerships with newspapers, such as USA Today, have also been agreed.

Que users will be able to choose from over 700,000 titles on the Barnes and Noble website. Amazon have around 400,000 Kindle titles available on their Kindle store – but these are being added to at a rate of a little over 500 each day.

The Que will begin shipping in mid-April 2010. Customers can buy it from either the Que website or from the Barnes and Noble website. It’s difficult to predict if Amazon will be truly concerned. It may be that the Que is genuinely more than an e-book reader – in which case the two devices will be operating in different market segments. On the other hand, if they do wind up competing for the same customer base then, even without the price advantage that the Kindle enjoys, Amazon probably have good reason to feel quietly confident that their Kindle family will be able to see off this latest “Kindle Killer”.

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