Seems like there is new competition for the Amazon Kindle. Plastic Logic has come up with a similar device utilizing the same E-ink technology to create an alternative to paper. It differentiates itself from the Sony Reader and Kindle with a larger screen size. While it has not been released just yet, it demonstrates the direction newspaper and magazine reading is taking. Once the public becomes more comfortable with a different tactile experience when reading their daily paper, this type of technology might just take off.
While I applaud the larger size, what is even more important will be the flexibility of a device to fold and bend to fit into a pocket for easy mobility. " The ideal format, a flexible display that could be rolled or folded like a newspaper, is still years off, says E Ink. But it foresees color displays with moving images and interactive clickable advertising coming in only a few more years, according to Sriram K. Peruvemba, vice president for marketing for E Ink."
Wireless downloads, long battery life, perhaps even the ability to self recharge, and color pictures and fonts would make this a must have product and an ecological game changer. "The big question for newspaper companies is how much people will pay for a device and the newspaper subscription for it."
