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Now, according to an email apparently sent to customers by Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta (and reprinted by Gizmodo), the Que will not ship until "this summer." Apologizing for the delay, the message continues, "we are postponing the first Que proReader shipments ... in order to fine-tune the features and enhance the overall product experience."
As we review further below, the Que has a number of novel features, including 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. The device is a third of an inch thick, weighs 17 ounces, and includes both WiFi and optional cellular connectivity, the company says.
Plastic Logic p
rovided no further details on what features might be added to the Que. Meanwhile, the device is now facing strong competition from Apple's iPad (right): Apple began accepting pre-orders for its device today and says it will ship on Apr. 3. While the iPad uses a color LCD display rather than E Ink, it has been touted for its e-reading capabilities by Apple, and Barnes & Noble announced an e-reading app for the device yesterday.
Background
Said to be aimed at business professionals, the Que will display newspapers, books and periodicals, and can download content either via WiFi or via a cellular modem designed to operate with AT&T's 3G network. Plastic Logic claims its online store, "powered by Barnes & Noble," will offer "the most significant collection of business reading available on any e-reader."
Like Amazon's market-leading Kindle, the Que (pictured above and at right) uses 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 has an 8.5 x 11-inch form factor, touted by Plastic Logic as the largest available. Measuring 10.7 inches diagonally, the screen has a resolution of 1264 x 964 pixels, according to the company.
The e-reader has a customized user interface, and can read documents in PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, text, RTF, HTML, JPEG, PNG, BMP, ePub, and eReader formats, according to Plastic Logic. In addition, the company says, it has teamed with Good Technology to develop email and calendaring software for the device. It's said this will provide un-tethered updates from a variety of popular email services for business professionals, including Microsoft Exchange.
The Que differs from the iPad in that it is not touted as a web browsing device. This is probably because of the low refresh rate provided by E Ink displays, rather than any other underlying technical limitation.
Plastic Logic says that with or without a stylus, users can highlight text, scribble free-form, or use a virtual keyboard to add comments to documents. Built-in search functionality makes it easy to find content that has been loaded onto the system, the company adds.
The Que -- available in a 4GB configuration touted as holding up to 35,000 documents, or an 8GB configuration that said to hold 75,000 documents -- runs Windows CE, according to Plastic Logic. Also, Marvell has announced that the device uses its Armada 166E, an ARM SoC that integrates E Ink's Visplex display controller.
Plastic Logic's website does not appear to make battery life claims, but the company said last year that the Que's operating time would be "measured in days." As noted earlier, the device is a third of an inch thick and weighs 17 ounces. In addition to its optional cellular modem, the Que proReader includes a USB port, 802.11b/g wireless networking, and Bluetooth 2.0.
In April 2009, Plastic Logic announced an agreement with the Detroit Media Partnership via which its e-reader will be offered as a replacement for home newspaper delivery. At that time, the publisher ended home delivery of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday editions of the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, and said it would offer the Que to subscribers for purchase or lease this year.
While Plastic Logic's Que could still be the first 8.5 x 11 inch e-reader to reach customers, the Hearst Corporation-backed startup Skiff LLC recently announced a similarly sized reader that runs Linux, and boasts a claimed resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. For more details, see the coverage on our sister site LinuxDevices.com, here.
Further information
According to Plastic Logic, the Que proReader will cost $650 for a 4GB version, or $800 for an 8GB version that also includes a cellular modem. Email and messaging services will be available in the autumn, the company adds.
Further information on the Que may be found on the company's web site, here.
Gizmodo's story citing shipment delays for the Que may be found here.
A story about Barnes & Noble's e-reader app for the Apple Ipad may be found on eWEEK, here.
