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Earlier this month, Plastic Logic also announced that CEO Richard Archuleta, who led the company for the past four years, is stepping down. He's being replaced by Intro Mukerjee, most recently chairman and CEO of C-Mac Micro Technology, and previously an executive with Philips Semiconductors BV.
Instead of being aimed at executives, as was the Que proReader, the Plastic Logic 100 (above) is intended for children. It's one of the devices being tested as part of an electronic textbook program by Russia's FIRO (Federal Institute of Development of Education), and, as such, will come equipped with more than 40 books covering the subject matter taught in grades 6 and 7, the company says.
According to Plastic Logic, the 100 is the first device in the world to feature the company's PlasticPaper technology. Because the base is not glass, the Plastic Logic 100 display is large, thin, lightweight, and is uniquely shatterproof and rugged, according to the company.
Like the Que proReader, the Plastic Logic 100 may be read even in direct sunlight without eye strain, Plastic Logic says. Requiring no backlight, the device will only need to be recharged about once a week, the company adds.
Plastic Logic says the 100 has a capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1280 x 900 pixels, 4GB of internal flash storage, a micro-USB port, and an 800MHz processor. A customized user interface, running atop Windows CE, allows students to: quickly underline and annotate a text; use the virtual keyboard to make a note on a page; "bookmark" a page for easy reference; or use the powerful search tool to find something in their textbooks, the company adds.
According to Plastic Logic, the 100 weighs just 1.04 pounds and is just 0.3 thick. Not coincidentally, perhaps, those are the same numbers that were quoted for the Que proReader, though that device was also touted as having wireless networking (and optional cellular connectivity) that its successor apparently lacks.
Background on the original Que proReader
The Que proReader, originally known as the Plastic Logic Reader, was first announced in April 2009, renamed in October of the same year, and formally unveiled again at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Plastic Logic said at the latter event that the Que would be released in April of the same year.
In a March 2010 email sent to customers by then-CEO Archuleta, the company said the Que (below) would not ship until "this summer." Archuleta emailed customers yet again in June 2010, canceling their orders and failing to provide a new ship date.
By August 2010, competition from sub-$200 e-readers -- such as Amazon's $139, third-generation Kindle -- had proven too much for Plastic Logic, which originally said its device would range from $650 to $800. The company announced that it was canceling the Que proReader and would shift its focus to a "second-generation plastic electronics-based product."
Nonethess, the Que appears to have passed on most of its novel features to the newer Plastic Logic 100. For example, the Que was said to have not only an 8.5 x 11 inch form factor, but also a 10.7-inch "shatterproof" screen with a resolution of 1264 x 964 pixels.
Said to be aimed at business professionals, the Que was designed to display newspapers, books and periodicals, and to download content either via WiFi or via a cellular modem designed to operate with AT&T's 3G network. Plastic Logic claimed an online store, "powered by Barnes & Noble," would offer "the most significant collection of business reading available on any e-reader."
Like the Kindle and many other devices, the Que (pictured) was to have used an electrophorescent monochrome display sourced from E Ink Corporation. Electronic paper offers a bright, high-contrast, thin, lightweight display technology that remains legible under "any lighting condition" -- much like newsprint. Once an image has been "printed," no power is needed to hold it, reducing energy requirements by 99 percent compared to LCDs, E Ink claims.
Unlike the Kindle and a variety of existing Windows-based e-readers, the Que had an 8.5 x 11-inch form factor, touted by Plastic Logic as the largest available. Measuring 10.7 inches diagonally, the screen offered a resolution of 1264 x 964 pixels, according to the company.
The Que had a customized user interface, and could read documents in PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, text, RTF, HTML, JPEG, PNG, BMP, ePub, and eReader formats, according to Plastic Logic. With or without a stylus, users would be able to highlight text, scribble free-form, or use a virtual keyboard to add comments to documents. Built-in search functionality would make it easy to find content that has been loaded onto the system, the company added.
The Que -- promised in a 4GB configuration touted as holding up to 35,000 documents, or an 8GB configuration that could hold 75,000 documents -- ran Windows CE, according to Plastic Logic. Also, Marvell announced that the device used its Armada 166E, an ARM SoC that integrates E Ink's Visplex display controller.
Further information
Plastic Logic did not announce plans to make its reincarnated Plastic Logic 100 available outside the pilot educational program in Russia, but we're sure the company is open to offers. More information may be found on the company's website.
