Plastic e-reader could shake up publishing

After 10-years of development a new e-reader with the potential to revolutionise the world of publishing is to be launched next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
 
The Que, created by scientists at the Cavendish Labs in Cambridge, has already been described as a 'Kindle-killer' and has much of the functionality users would expect from a netbook - the ability to edit some types of document, for example.
 
The name of the company behind the device, Plastic Logic, also gives a clue to another of its unique features, for the Que is powered by circuitry using plastic as a base rather than traditional silicone. This means that it is much lighter, more flexible and stronger than other readers like the Kindle which have breakable glass screens.

The Que is A4 in size, about a third of an inch thick and weighs less than many magazines. The makers claim it can withstand being dropped on concrete.
 
After its launch in Vegas, the Que will be distributed through the book store chain Barnes & Noble and aimed at the business market. Plastic Logic has announced deals to feature content from various magazines and newspapers including Popular Science, PC World, Macworld, CIO, Network World, Computerworld, Technology Review, the Financial Times and USA Today.
 
It has been suggested that the Que could become an alternative to paper for the publishing industry. The makers are looking at colour versions and there is speculation that a fully flexible reader which can be rolled up like a newspapers could be developed.
 
The only fly in the ointment appears to be the price. The Que is expected to retail for between $400 and $800. That is not beyond the reach of business customers, but industry observers believe that if e-readership is to take off among the general public they need to sell for something a lot closer to the $200 mark.
 
However, The First Post has been told of one newspaper publisher in north America who has considered giving - for free - a Que pro-Reader to each of his readers, allowing him to give up printing and distribution (not to mention cutting down trees for paper). Readers would subscribe instead to an online feed from the news publisher.

That may be over-optimistic, but it's the sort of revolutionary thinking the print world needs to be doing if it's to secure its future. ·