Plastic Logic shelves Que e-reader to focus on version two

Plans to release the Que ProReader have been abandoned as the company works towards releasing a second version of the device, according to Plastic Logic.

The Que ProReader uses plastic electronics technology and caused a splash at its debut during CES 10, but development delays and competition from the iPad and Kindle mean that the project is no longer commercially viable.

"We recognise 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 chief executive Richard Archuleta.

The company added that the decision to shelve the product was difficult but that "it is the best one for our company, our investors and our customers".

Instead, Plastic Logic says that it will now be working on the second version of the e-reader.

"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 continue to perfect our core plastic electronic technology and manufacturing processes that are central to our product's unique value proposition," the company said.

Founded in 2000 by researchers out of the Cambridge University Cavendish Laboratory, the plastic electronics technology that allows semiconductors to be printed on plastic rather than silicon has already been in development for several years.

Despite the delays and challenges of the project, the company maintains that the new technology "has many economic, manufacturing, form factor and environmental benefits, assuring that it will replace silicon in a variety of devices in the future. The technology makes possible an amazingly thin, lightweight, more robust mobile form factor that the QUE illustrated", according to a statement on its website.