Plastic Logic's QUE may be dead, but it's little surprise that the company's plastic electronics technology lives on. The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) has announced a "major" investment into the company, with the most significant outcome being a second manufacturing facility based in Russia.
We heard at the end of June that Plastic Logic was canceling pre-orders of their QUE proReader, eReading device, while the product was delayed with no estimate of a launch date. Now, it seems that Plastic Logic has done what they've needed to do, and have decided that they are going to revise their product strategy, and retool their entire way of doing business. In the process, they are officially canceling the QUE product, and setting their sights on a second generation ProReader.
The QUE proReader from Plastic Logic has a torrid past. With so many missed delivery dates and delays under their belt, we're not sure if anyone even has them in mind anymore. Today, Plastic Logic came back into the lime light for a minute, but not to talk any kind of good news, unfortunately. What's the deal now? Well, apparently they're pushing back the launch of the QUE proReader again. And, if you've got a pre-order, well. You probably don't anymore.
Plastic Logic's first product, the business-centric QUE ereader, isn't even in customers' hands yet, but the company are already talking about their follow-up. They reckon they'll have a manufacturable color e-ink display ready by the end of 2011, and headed into mass production in 2012. The panel will be based on technology the company already have "working at our Cambridge laboratory" according to Achim Neu at Plastic Logic.
As expected after this morning's report, Plastic Logic have officially confirmed that the launch of the QUE ebook reader will be delayed until Summer 2010. In an official statement from company CEO Richard Archuleta, the decision is described as "to fine-tune the features and enhance the overall product experience."
I am not typically one to pre-order products. I like to be able to just walk into a store, buy the thing, and take it home. One of the reasons I don’t like pre-orders is that you never really know when you will get the device until it actually ships. Such is the case with the geeks who pre-ordered the expensive QUE proReader a while back.
Plastic Logic's new QUE ereader raised some eyebrows at CES 2010 when the company announced their pricing: $649 for the WiFi-only 4GB model, rising to $799 for the WiFi/3G 8GB version is a whole lot of money when consumers are used to $259 Kindles and nooks. Still, when SlashGear caught up with the QUE earlier we found it a hard device not to like; check out our first-impressions and a hands-on video demo after the cut.
Plastic Logic have officially unveiled their QUE ereader, and as expected they're heavily pushing their innovative touchscreen technology and flexible plastic e-paper. In fact the QUE is not solely being positioned as an ebook reader; Plastic Logic have also given it email and calendar support, together with Outlook sync, and rather than clutter the all-plastic bezel with hardware controls the UI is 99-percent touch and gesture based.
After announcing last month that the OLPC XO-2 concept had been abandoned in favor of a more straightforward slate-style XO-3 device, the One Laptop Per Child project have now released renders of what that tablet might look like. The work of Yves Behar, the design has an 8.5 x 11 inch touchscreen, would use inductive charging, be waterproof and cost around $100. It's also expected to combine a Pixel Qi indoor/outdoor display with plastic screen components from Plastic Logic.
Put nook and QUE together and you’ve got the ideal setup for a filthy pun, but you’ve also got Barnes and Noble’s upcoming ebook device lineup. Plastic Logic and the publisher have announced that the QUE will go on sale both in B&N retail stores and online, when it hits the market in 2010, right next to the Barnes and Noble nook announced earlier this month.
Plastic Logic have finally announced details about their ebook reader, which will launch as the Plastic Logic QUE at CES 2010 in January. The QUE has the largest E Ink display among ebook readers today, as well as a touchscreen interface, and Plastic Logic are aiming it at business professionals. QUE will be able to download ebooks from the Barnes and Noble store either via WiFi or integrated 3G (courtesy of AT&T in the US).
Last Friday’s news that Plastic Logic were apparently building a color ebook reader for Barnes and Noble now looks to be a little too optimistic; the company – who are on course to deliver their first, monochrome model in early 2010 – have denied that a color device is pipeline for next year. According to Plastic Logic, the Barnes and Noble employee who seemingly announced the color ebook reader “was misinformed” and not an “authorized” spokesperson of the retailer.