Plastic Logic Shows Shatterproof, Slim Ereader
Plastic Logic finally lifts the curtain on its ebook reader.
Meet Plastic Logic's super-skinny, capacitive touchscreen ebook reader, the Que. Despite the fact that we've called it an ereader twice already, Que is touting this device as much more than that. Dubbing the device a proReader, the company aims to, 'simplify the the multi-faceted lifestyle of the modern businessperson, and to quite literally lighten their workload.' Of course, you can read books and newspapers too but for the 'modern businessperson' the Que also includes support for Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel documents.
That's great and all, but the bit we're most taken with is the shatterproof plastic display. No one wants to fork out hundreds of dollars on an ereader only to accidentally crack the screen by shoving it in their purse or backback. When it comes to briefcase real estate, the Que measures in at 8.5 x 11 inches and is less than a 1/3 inch thick.
Right now, there are very few details other than what you read above and some very nice photographs. Plastic Logic promises to reveal everything at the annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this coming January.
- Nissan Shows Off Collision-Avoidance Robots
- Seriously: Livescribe Makes App Store for Pen
- Motorola's DROID Does Plenty the iPhone Can't
- Sony Prototypes 360-degree 3D Display
- These Are the Top 10 Most Fuel Efficient Cars
- 2010 Olympic Medals Made From Old Electronics
- Mailman Steals 2,200 Games From GameFly
- Pepsi iPhone App Aims to Help Men Pick Up Girls
- Swedes Turn Bottle Bank Into Arcade Game
- CMU Team Creates D&D for Microsoft Surface
- Asus Working on Wireless HDMI Streamer
- Play SNES, Genesis Carts via USB
- Airport Body Scan Banned From Children, Teens
- TV Destroyed by Wii Sports Accessory on HSN
- VIDEO: Volkswagen's Swedish Musical Stairs
- Aphrodisiac Bed Sheets Pop Up at Invention Show
- Waste Tax Payers Dollars With Balloon Boy Game
- The CIA is Monitoring Your Tweets
- Encryption Saves Peeping Tom From Jail
Give me a hammer, then we will see how shatter proof it is.
Well, the display may be shatterproof (see the video with that OLED screen in a previous article), but the electronics are probably not quite as resiliant. Nonetheless, it is nice they made the reader that much more durable.
should have:
-ePaper screen
-expansion slot(s)
and I will consider it.
They really need to focus on features and actual usability rather than the, "Hey look you can pull a Michael Jackson and hold me outside a balcony, but you can really drop me!"
To soon?
doh. Yet another device with a built-in rechargable battery so the whole device will be useless in 3 years when the battery gets worn out.
Stupid Stupid Stupid.
It looks like this is yet another device with a built-in (read: non-standard and unreplaceable) rechargable battery. This means:
a) yet another recharger to remember to pack every time you go away
b) You're repeatedly screwed because your device takes hours to recharge
c) You have to buy a whole new reader every 2-3 years because over that time the battery degrades until it wont hold a charge any more.
I will only consider buying one of these when they build one that takes AA's.
The What?
I can't think of many devices of this nature that I have used past 3 years. In that span, there is usually a process shrink, battery advancements, and fundamental science breakthrough that happen which convince me to upgrade. We've got batteries in the lab that charge in 30 seconds to 80% capacity right now. Nano-Structure use in batteries is changing the field dramatically.
People are starting to take for granted the tech shrinkage that is taking place. The phone can't get much smaller or it'll be to small for human hands; instead more capability will be crapped into the same amount of space. Circuits are so cheap, we have them in talking greeting cards and then throw them away.
So I don't mind an integrated battery as long as it performs until I replace the device, which at this pace, is likely less than three years. At which time I'll get my hoverboard/reader/food replicator combo device, and it's integrated battery, and replace it later when I can get the phaser option.
With the logic used here, no one would have bought a Model-T, which would have deprived us everything that followed. This device is aimed at businesses, just like the first SSDs, and from those big pockets, the R&D will be paid for, after which time regular people will get them for the manufacturing cost plus some profit margin.
Unlike all the "wouldn't buy" folks above, I am interested.
I've been waiting for a device with at least as much screen area as a normal papeback book, without weighing so much that I might as well bring along a netbook.
Being that large does suggest a portability problem: I can see it in a backpack or briefcase, but not carried around.
And book replacements will still need many things that books provide: the ability to make marginal notes, post multiple bookmarks (like sticky notes), flip through it looking for a familiar section. And maybe they can come with a spray-can of that musty-paper scent.
I agree 100% with the whole sealed battery thing.
Let us put in a set of AAA or AA 2/4 of them. You can pick a set of rechargable AAA and charger for under $20. Then if in a pinch you can always buy some alkaline.
I made sure my digital camera uses AA batteries (4ea) for the same reason and I don't buy any Apple crap with their proprietary sealed batteries either.