Plastic Logic and Barnes & Noble announced a partnership on Tuesday that will see Plastic Logic's QUE proReader e-book reader sold at the latter's stores and on its website. As part of the deal, the QUE proReader will be displayed near Barnes & Noble's own nook e-book reader, on its own free-standing display. Compared to the nook, the QUE is more business-oriented.
Barnes and Noble's rumored dual-screen e-book reader gained credibility Monday night with the leak of a paper ad in advance (subscription required). A full-page placement due for the New York Times' Book Review next Sunday labels the reader as the Nook and says it will ship for $259, reaching the same price as the US Kindle. It also makes a direct reference to the previously leaked e-book lending feature, which would let users temporarily give rights to a book to someone else.
Plastic Logic today took the wraps off of its long in development e-book reader. Now known as the QUE proReader, the e-ink device is under a third of an inch thick but has a full 8.5-by-11-inch display that can show many documents at their full size. It also has a unique plastic touchscreen that the company claims is shatterproof and uses both Wi-Fi as well as AT&T-based 3G for downloading content from Barnes & Noble.
Barnes & Noble's imminent e-book reader may make a second, multi-touch display its central feature, a leak shows today. Renderings, photos and details obtained today by Gizmodo show the device having both a grayscale e-paper display, like most readers, but also a small, full color, multi-touch LCD. The interface would not only give a responsive, adaptable keyboard but would be used to browse and pick books.
Barnes and Noble this afternoon sent invitations to the press for its frequently rumored October 20th press event. The bookseller is short on details but exactly mirrors leaks in describing it as a "major event in our company's history." Most expect the event to involve Barnes & Noble launching a self-branded e-book reader that would be designed by Plastic Logic.
Plastic Logic today denied reports that it would have a color e-book reader ready by spring. The company tells PCPro that the Barnes & Noble contact was "misinformed" and further insists he wasn't speaking in an official capacity for the American book retailer. A color reader is still in development but isn't due to ship this year, a spokesperson says.
Barnes & Noble spokesman Daniel Joresson at CTIA appears to have confirmed a timeframe in a video (available below) for what's likely the first color e-book reader available in the US. The Plastic Logic device would be smaller than the 8.5x11-inch large model proposed early on and would have just a paperback-sized display. However, it would have its own direct access to Barnes & Noble's bookstore and would be ready by spring 2010, or considerably earlier than an Amazon Kindle with color or most other rivals.
(Updated with Android rumor) Barnes & Noble is developing its own high-end e-book reader to help boost its online store, a source close to its plans purportedly revealed this afternoon. Most features are unknown, but it would have a touchscreen and use an iPhone-like on-screen keyboard for searches and similar tasks. A wireless link is also seen by the Wall Street Journal as a key ingredient, though whether this would involve 3G or simply Wi-Fi isn't immediately evident.
iRex today more officially stepped into the US market for e-book readers by cementing a deal for the Barnes & Noble online bookstore. The company now plans to integrate the digital book service both with its own readers as well as for "other devices." It's not specified which readers would be involved or when the deal will take effect.
Plastic Logic announced on Wednesday that it will partner with wireless provider AT&T to deliver content over 3G for its e-book reader. The news comes just after Plastic Logic's alliance with bookstore Barnes & Noble. The feature will give readers relatively wide-area wireless options to download newspapers, magazines and other periodicals in addition to books.
Barnes and Noble on Monday night formally launched its expected e-book store, a new cross-platform alternative to its retail shops. The store carries about 700,000 titles, including a large number of public domain books made available from Google. Universal access is a focus and lets both Mac and Windows PC owners read titles through an updated version of Fictionwise's eReader app. iPhone and iPod touch owners can use the free B&N eReader app (App Store) to read titles on the road; BlackBerry owners also have a companion app.
Amazon's price cut of its Kindle 2 e-book reader have prompted some in the publishing industry to worry that the online retailer, which is far and away the leading provider of e-books, may put pressure on them to drop the prices for electronic versions of their books for the device, according to a Bloomberg report. Amazon reportedly pays between $12 and $13 to publishers for Kindle editions of books that are on the New York Times bestseller list and sells them for about $10 to customers. Many publishing houses are concerned the giant online vendor will put price pressure on them in order to bump its own profit margins.
Plastic Logic this morning launched an e-book reader it hopes will tackle the Amazon Kindle and other high-profile readers. The device is one of the few to have a letter-sized, 8.5- by 11-inch display but uses the company's unique plastic screen backing to generate a much thinner and sturdier design than most readers, which need a toughened shell to protect a glass back. This produces a device with the shape of a magazine or small newspaper but the changeability of an e-ink device.
