Plastic Logic kills QUE proReader to focus on second-gen product

When Plastic Logic cancelled all existing pre-orders its QUE proReader in June it was pretty clear that this device was unlikely to hit the market in its current form, and today the company officially announced it has changed its product strategy. The first QUE proReader has been axed, instead Plastic Logic has shifted its focus to bring to market a second-generation proReader plastic electronics-based product. The press release doesn't contain details regarding the features of the next-gen eReader, nor an estimated launch date.

Plastic Logic today announced it is revising its product strategy and plans to shift its focus to bring to market a second-generation ProReader plastic electronics-based product. The company said it has cancelled its QUE product, which it debuted at CES in January 2010 and planned to ship earlier this year.

"We recognize the market has dramatically changed, and with the product delays we have experienced, it no longer make sense for us to move forward with our first generation electronic reading product," said Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta. "This was a hard decision, but is the best one for our company, our investors and our customers."

Archuleta added: "We plan to take the necessary time needed to re-enter the market as we refocus, redesign and retool for our next generation ProReader product. We continue to perfect our core plastic electronic technology and manufacturing processes that are central to our product's unique value proposition.

"We remain the industry's leader in the development of plastic electronics technology for commercial purposes and are continuing to actively advance this technology in our labs and in our manufacturing facility."

Plastic electronics technology has many economic, manufacturing, form factor and environmental benefits, assuring that it will replace silicon in a variety of devices in the future. The technology makes possible an amazingly thin, lightweight, more robust mobile form factor that the QUE illustrated – and remains unmatched in the marketplace of traditional silicon semiconductor glass-based display products.

"We are fortunate to have investors who are confident and committed to our company's long-term success in commercializing plastic electronics," Archuleta noted. "We thank them, along with our partners and suppliers, and most especially our first customers, for their support, dedication and patience -- and for standing with us to pioneer the plastic electronics revolution."