Mountain View,
Calif. –
cited product
delays in dropping plans to offer the Que e-reader
and planned to ship earlier this year.
The company said it would now focus on
producing a second-generation product whose timetable wasn’t disclosed.
The device featured a 10.7-inch plastic
touchscreen enabled by a technology that allowed the company to build
transistors directly on plastic, requiring no glass screen and allowing for a
reader that would have been less than a third of an inch thick.
“We recognize the market has dramatically
changed, and with the product delays we have experienced, it no longer make
sense for us to move forward with our first-generation electronic reading
product,” said Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta. “We plan to take the
necessary time needed to re-enter the market as we refocus, redesign and retool
for our next-generation ProReader product.”
The company is continuing to refine its plastic
electronic technology and manufacturing processes, he added.
The product was to come in two variations: a
$649 4GB model equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a $799 8GB version with
AT&T 3G service. Barnes & Noble had planned to offer the device but
then launched its Nook e-reader.
“We are fortunate to have investors who are
confident and committed to our company’s long-term success in commercializing
plastic electronics,” Archuleta added.
Plastic Logic, founded
in 2000 by researchers out of the Cambridge University Cavendish Laboratory,
developed its proprietary technology to create a variety of electronics
products. It has research and development in Cambridge, England; a
manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany; and management, product engineering,
and sales and marketing offices in Mountain View.
Since the Que was unveiled, e-reader prices have dropped sharply to as little as $139, and Apple’s iPad was launched with a thin form factor. Plastic Logic’s second-generation ProReader is targeted to business customers for use in storing and reading documents.
