In the face of heavy competition from the Kindle, nook and even the iPad, Plastic Logic is nixing its QUE e-reader. On Tuesday, the company announced a revised shrouded product strategy that focuses on the next generation of e-readers.

"We recognize the market has dramatically changed, and with the product delays we have experienced, it no longer makes 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."

Ode to QUE

Plastic Logic announced plans for the QUE in October 2009, positioning its e-book reader as a device aimed at business professionals. The company debuted its product at CES in January and had hoped to expand the e-reader category from a leisure-reading device to a business-oriented device.

QUE was designed to streamline the modern businessperson's varied lifestyle and to literally lighten the workload. The device aimed to connect users with business and professional newspapers, books and periodicals, as well as support the document formats that business users need, such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The device also offered tools for interacting with and managing the content.

QUE users would have connected to content and downloaded wirelessly via Wi-Fi and AT&T's 3G network. Plastic Logic promised its store would offer the most significant collection of business reading available on any e-reader. The QUE store is powered by Barnes & Noble.

The Next Generation

Fast-forward almost a year and it's a different e-reader landscape, including a competitive device from partner Barnes & Noble, a much lower-priced Kindle, and, of course, Apple's iPad.

Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, isn't surprised Plastic Logic killed QUE. As he sees it, QUE was always too expensive. With mainstream e-readers now selling for less than $200 -- including the Kindle Wi-Fi for just $139 -- QUE's $600 price tag would repel many consumers who would likely opt for a Kindle or nook on the low end and an iPad on the high end.

"Plastic Logic was always planning on making that product more of a business-oriented device rather than consumer-focused. They didn't intend to compete directly with something like a Kindle DX -- which is something under $400 now -- but effectively they would be," Greengart said. "They need to come up with a cost-effective alternative and break through the clutter with business-specific features."

Archuleta said the company plans to take the necessary time to reenter the market as it refocuses, redesigns and retools for its next-generation ProReader product. He stressed that the company is continuing to perfect its core plastic electronic technology and manufacturing processes. But the company failed to offer any details about what the next generation will look like or when it might come to market.

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