Plastic Logic e-reader

According to Plastic Logic, while digital e-readers are likely to experience “explosive growth” during 2009, the majority of current devices are centred on personal, leisure-based reading, which is apparently leaving a sizeable business-shaped gap in the market that Plastic Logic firmly plans to exploit.

More pointedly, using this week’s DEMOfall 08 technology conference in California as a handy media platform, Plastic Logic has offered up a small form factor e-reader (8.5 x 11-inch) that’s thinner than a pad of paper, lighter than many business periodicals and delivers a high-quality reading experience “better than alternatives of paper or other electronic readers on the market today.”

Big words, not least when considering the significant market presence of rival devices such as the popular Amazon Kindle and Sony’s Reader.

However, Plastic Logic is looking for its e-reader to tap the veins of business users as opposed to casual readers, with CEO Richard Archuleta saying that: “Research confirms professionals read much more business content than recreational content. They require access to all formats of digital content at their fingertips, and want a large readable screen.”

Supporting business document formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe PDF, along with newspapers, periodicals and books, the Plastic Logic e-reader includes an easy touch-screen and gesture-based user interface and also “powerfulsoftware tools” designed to help business users to organise and manage their reader’s information.

Boasting both wired and wireless connectivity and capable of storing “thousands of documents” on a single device, the Plastic Logic e-reader uses E Ink technology and provides users with ecological peace of mind thanks to low power consumption and long battery life.

The main selling point of Plastic Logic’s device is its screen, according to DEMO executive producer Chris Shipley, who commented that it is “the key differentiator that sets Plastic Logic’s product apart.”

Built around Plastic Electronics Technology, which was first developed at Cambridge University, the Plastic Logic display uses high-resolution transistor arrays on flexible plastic substrates. This enables the production of components that are lighter, less expensive and more eco-friendly than traditional silicon-based semiconductor industry products.

Set to begin ramping up production on the Plastic Logic reader via its new fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany when it comes online on Sept. 17, Plastic Logic believes its business e-reader will hit retail in the first half of 2009.

Pricing has not yet been confirmed, although the company has said its device will be “competitively priced.” The Amazon Kindle presently costs $359 USD, while the Sony Reader can be bought for $269 USD.