Que e-reader is cancelled due to delays, market changes

Plastic Logic, which has been showing prototypes of its Que e-reader for years now, finally pulled the plug on the product, in light of a changing marketplace.

That marketplace, of course, is the hotly competitive e-reader space that includes Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook, both of which are now priced under $200. The Que had original starting price of $649. The company had already delayed the device a couple of times this year, following an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Originally, expected to ship in April, the Que's first delay was announced in March because of "technical work and optimization." Then, a June ship date was missed and pre-orders were cancelled - but the company continued to back the product.

Today, the company CEO Richard Archuleta said it no longer made sense to move forward, given the changes in the market and their own delays. In a statement, via CNET, he said:

This was a hard decision, but is the best one for our company, our investors and our customers... 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 are fortunate to have investors who are confident and committed to our company's long-term success in commercializing plastic electronics. 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.