The war has begun for creating the best reading and tablet devices. Which do you choose?

The Plastic Logic Que may be in trouble

Posted: June 27th, 2010 | Author: Mike Smick | Filed under: Android, Readers | 2 Comments »

I haven’t been too friendly about Plastic Logic and their Que Reader. Now Wired reveals there will be more delays making it, giving the Que the embarrassing title of vaporware and in my opinion making even less relevant than ever.  They struck me as pioneers of their device at first. They had the large screen and had begun working through media publishing channels and to make it compatible with the most formats. When they announced the price, it was evident that either their product is just too expensive to make after all the refinements or they were fully out of touch. It’s unfortunate but by branding and pricing their Que reader as a business tool, they are up against Apple and Apple’s iPad.  Plastic Logic announced their product years in advance and have been surpassed by Apple and a lot of other copycat reader companies who actually shipped.

It’s a good lesson I wouldn’t have wanted to experience as a company first hand. But there are still things that Plastic Logic has going for it. The plastic substrate still sets it apart from the others. But plastic and less breakable doesn’t make it a better choice overall.  The flexibility of the screen doesn’t mean it can withstand heat or cold. They also have a nice big screen, which sets it apart from most, but not all readers (KindleDX). Unfortunately a bigger screen doesn’t automatically mean it’s built in every way to best utilize business documents. It’s just one factor. The iPad and any other tablet with good battery life and a decent size are probably better suited. Why?  Because people can edit, resize, scroll and markup a document faster on a tablet. A reader with slow refresh is going to be just clunky enough to be annoying when navigating through it when contrasted with a tablet or netbook.

All this wouldn’t matter if they weren’t trying to get $700-$900 out of the device. A Kindle DX is $489 and I can almost guarantee it will also lower in price by the time the Que comes out, or that same day.  But the problem is the iPad and any decent tablet coming out in the next six months. Because the 9″ screen size, the ability to add apps, the instantaneous feedback, the editing ability all make a tablet better. And a tablet prices are cheaper for all that you get, even without 3G internet. A tablet will also give you more hard drive space and the operating systems are built to let you add programs that can open more documents. Need to read CAD or UML files? Tablets will do it. An e-reader? Not so much.

I’m not trying to simplify the challenges involved, but it is very simple that being both late expensive don’t help your current and future goals.

I have a few recommendations that can increase appeal. But the chances that Plastic Logic will feel compelled to do this is probably unlikely

  1. Release the product at $450 and get it out ASAP
  2. If it’s software and not hardware causing the final challenges, release and then get busy on firmware updates
  3. Include a large book pack and 3 or 6 month magazine subscriptions for free.
  4. Upgrade the storage to 10 GB to diverge from KindleDX
  5. Make the reader water, temperature and shock resistant out of the box
  6. Consider opening the device to make it a hacker friendly to attract another niche or two
  7. Get the devices in the hands of a few celebrities or celebrity CEOs. (Try to where iPads haven’t dominated)
  8. Sell / License the technology to earn money through other channels to bring prices down

Apple has the brand name and the interest captured already. Amazon has the attached book store and Kindle app proliferation on other platforms. The rest of the e-readers like the Nook, Alex, Kobo and others have a little foothold either with their own stores or simply compete on price. Sony has nice all-around affordable readers and spaces in many retail outlets covered.  Plastic Logic has a sleek looking large reader that is overpriced and so far has people waiting entirely too long. A Wi-Fi iPad or a netbook from ASUS or Toshiba is a much better buy for corporate types. At least you can edit docs, skype chat, watch movies and store a lot more on a netbook. Given that iPhone and Blackberry have document viewers, the case is even less for an expensive business reader. E-Ink and similar technology compete on battery life and a better-for-your-eyes reading experience. But that’s pretty much it. They are all underpowered and do a lot less for a power user than a real computer or a smart phone.

2 Comments on “The Plastic Logic Que may be in trouble”

  1. 1 woops said at 3:52 pm on June 27th, 2010:

    There has got to be a huge demand for an 8.5″ x 11″ screen ereader. To date there is no product that offers this. Imagine, one page of a book or magazine equals one page on an ereader. People have vast libraries of PDF files just begging for a full screen ereader. Believe me, the Kindle DX is NOT the answer.

    Final Answer: Please forget trying to compare a back lit screen with e-ink technology. Back lit screens simply do NOT work for heavy reading.

  2. 2 Mike Smick said at 7:13 pm on June 27th, 2010:

    @woops thanks for the comments.

    You’re right, there’s definitely a demand for that form factor of e-ink device. I’m one of them. I’ve been waiting 2 years or more now for the Que. But not at $800. They aren’t flying off the shelf at that price. Even The KindleDX isn’t flying off the shelves at $500 either.

    An aside, The Kindle DX reads PDF files. They don’t advertise it specifically because they don’t actually want everyone to be talking about that. You can actually move PDF files to a Kindle DX via USB, no email conversion needed. So those PDF files you want to cash in on? The KindleDX isn’t a bad option. So no I don’t “believe you” because it would work for people.

    I’ve been very careful to highlight the benefits of tablets vs readers in my articles. But in THIS particular example, you HAVE to compare the Que Reader with tablets. Because Plastic Logic said many times they are targeting business users. A business user wants speed and efficiency. They’re not leisure reading. And a device that does calendar, email document editing and can be extended via apps is a very large pull to a business user.

    What’s left for the Que? Long battery life basically. If you talk to business people, none of them say they gotta have an e-ink screen. If they’re going to replace a laptop. They want to be able to complete tasks. And they might also want to take advantage of multi-media for their research as well as document reading, markup and other communication. The iPad does it better than a Que will. And for less money. Can you see why I would compare a Que to a tablet for those interested in what to buy? Business users use blackberries and iPhones and read emails and documents on those acceptably. So how can the Que, which is slower and probably less powerful than a decent smart phone really help them?

    Now if you don’t like Apple and iPad lock-in, which I personally don’t, you might be holding out for the right Android or WebOS tablet. Or if you want the best of both worlds e-ink and a speedy LCD, you might be hoping to get something like the Notion Ink Adam, which is said to be coming out in a few more months sporting a special PixelQi dual mode screen. Which is both backlit AND reflective like E-Ink, but not actually E-Ink. It’s lower power as well.

    thanks again for the comments.

Leave a Reply