Andrew Keen in The Independent writes about Plastic Logic which announced its plans at last week's TOC conference:
"As the insurrectionary Web 2.0 age fizzles out in a damp climax of superfluous social networking widgets, Plastic Logic might well be Silicon Valley's new thing. This plastic revolution-from-above represents an audacious attempt to finally kill off the already sick print newspaper and magazine. Backed by both British and American venture capital, Plastic Logic, which owns over a hundred patents on its technology, employs three hundred people and is headed by former Hewlett-Packard executive Richard Archuleta. With their R&D facility in Cambridge, their manufacturing centre in Dresden and their sales and marketing HQ in Mountain View, California, the company's unconventional organisation reflects the audacity of its revolutionary plastic e-reader."
I went to visit Plastic Logic's Cambridge base two years ago and was impressed by what I saw, fascinated to hear that, although they could make screens as bendable as paper, market research led them to think the public demanded something more reassuringly safely firm to read from. Perhaps their gizmo when it arrives next year will be the one that takes us beyond comparisons to ipods and paperbacks to focus on what's unique about digital reading.
2 comments:
Sounds good. Personally I think something bendy would be nice on the tube, but I can see why solid would be more popular. We really need an e-reader to take off so that we can start doing books as downloads at around the same price as music, then of course short run luxury editions for those who like printed paper. This is the future, not print-on-demand nor the industry as it is now....
Good to meet you at the Poetry Caff, Mister. I agree with you pretty much, but think there may be other bookshelf enhancing buy-ables and experiences too. - Chris M
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