We're not going to engage in too much wild speculation on this piece of information, but there are certainly a few raised eyebrows in Engadget-land right now. Apparently
Plastic Logic is no longer offering pre-orders of its
QUE proReader, as a tipster of ours discovered while trying to push through his order of the $799.99, 8GB / 3G version of the large-screen device. According to the order page "Pre-orders are sold out. QUE will be available online and in select Barnes & Noble stores this summer." This of course comes on the heels of news that the company would be
further delaying the ship date from mid-April to summer related to "fine-tuning" and "enhancing the overall product experience." So our minds aren't exactly at ease, as we're trying to understand why a company wouldn't just caveat pre-orders by letting people know there's been a run on supply -- though it's possible that Plastic Logic is doing separate batches for mail order and in-store, and just needs to pace themselves. We've reached out to the company for comment, and we'll let you know as soon as we hear back.
[Thanks, Clive]
posted March 14th 2010 3:13PM
Interesting...
@DaHarder
...price drop maybe?
@DaHarder More like price increase.
@DaHarder
How could it not? The price exceeds that of the iPad.
@gerrrg That's what I was thinking. Maybe the news of ~124K iPad preorders on day one have them rethinking their price and strategy.
That's an awful lot of money for a one-trick pony.
@DaHarder
no
Call me crazy, but $800 seems a bit steep for an e-ink reader.
@AndroFan
But, but... e-ink is better for reading... LCDs will fry your retinas! :)
Seriously though... I bet avid readers who want an e-book reader already have a Kindle... at $259. The rest of us want a little more from a $500-$800 device... full-color, web browsing, apps, etc.
BTW... did you see Amazon's newest tagline for the Kindle?
"Easy to Read, Even in Bright Sunlight"
That'll move some units...
Surprised they were getting pre-orders for that price...
I'm impressed that people are spending $800 on a single purpose device.
@Maxipad Cars?
Ever try to get it on in the back seat of an e-reader
This price will kill the product itself
Looks like we'll be waiting in QUE...
Que?
I hope it's not just some Ponzi scheme corporation. There have already been a couple of delays but that may mean absolutely nothing. The QUE Reader does look to be a very nicely designed device even at the $800 cost. It's certainly more attractive than a Kindle DX. I hope the company can really bring this device to consumers. It looks like a very high-tech e-Ink reader.
They're dropping like flies.
Perhaps Pixel Logic should revise their business plan and make cases and accessories for the iPad. I bet they'd make more money that way.
No one is going to buy a stupid device called "proReader". It's $800. It's black and white. It doesn't have apps. Put 2 and 2 together.
@(Unverified)
I'm going to assume for the moment that you were serious. Aside from your problem with the name (remember a silly little console named the Wii? What a laugh!) you clearly have missed the point of this device.
The name should have tipped you off: it's aimed at professionals. Clearly this doesn't include you. They have made it quite clear that this will be compatible with just about every form of Office document available, along with PDF and many other formats, and it seems there will be a faux print driver to get content from any other printable source (openoffice, etc). It also allows live annotation. This featureset is EXTREMELY interesting to any professional that carries a briefcase of documents at any given time, needs to proof or give feedback, etc.
It's also very interesting in the science and medical research fields for much the same reason - these people read and annotate reams of journal papers/grants, most of which are printed out today. Same goes for trainees in these fields that the PhD level or beyond.
If all you want is a full color LCD displaying a monkey farting when you press a button, then the iPad is perfect for you. Let the grownups talk over here about stuff that actually matters. There are real and very significant uses for the Que, even in a world that includes the iPad.
Yeah I think I'll skip on ordering one anyways...that kinda price for a most likely half baked ereader Is too much in my opinion
They simply killed themselves.By summer everyone would have an iPad or an Adam. No one would want an eInk device!
@OZeee
You and all the others comparing eInk to LCD screens & devices have absolutely no clue whatsoever about what you're talking about. You make bold claims that "once the iPad is out..." people will just swoon cause it does the dishes, feeds the pets and drives you to work in the morning. The iPad in itself is another discussion, but comparing an eInk device to anything with an LCD is comparing a rock to animal... they have NOTHING in common.
The current crop of eInk reading devices are designed for being used to read books, magazines, documents, etc.; not play videos, surf the web or play Doom. They are also designed to be viewed outdoors, even in bright, direct lighting. They have battery lives that make laptops, cellphones and PMP's seem to last minutes. They are also light-weight enough you can carry it around without having to resort to a backpack (of course newer netbooks & even the iPad meet this purpose now).
People want color. It's in the works, but unless your reading comics or some other media that requires color, it's really superficial. People want it to be a convergence device; i.e., lets merge it with a phone, camera, laptop, gaming devices... whatever, to get to a single device. The physics of eInk don't allow for the rapid changing of pixels a laptop requires of its screen and color-depth is non-existent in grey-scale, but also an another issue with the color eInk in the works.
The simple fact is, eInk is the best medium for displaying documents hands-down next to paper. Secondly, battery life is measured in weeks and not hours. Weight is measured in grams not pounds and bulk in mm, not inches.
You don't ask your microwave to wash the dishes, why expect your book to let you surf the Internet?
As far as price-point... They are WAY off the mark with their pricing and ultimately they will go under if they try and maintain it. Plastic Logic needs go back to business school 101 and re-learn about profitability and maintaining solvency. Make a great product, sell it at a price that turns a profit yet garners the most amount of sales and increase profits through more sales not higher prices. I was (still am) very excited about the Que, but there is no way in hell I'm going to pay >$300 for a device such as this, especially in this downturn economy.
@Azayzel If anyone wants to know what it feels like to read long texts on a computer screen, they only need to refer to your post.
Plastic Logic have gotta seriously reduce the price of this thing. I actually love the form factor, it looks extremely sleek but the asking price is crazy,
It's obvious they were trying to milk as much as possible from business users.
If they can pitch this at a price point somewhere between the kindle and the dx they might have a modicum of success with it.
If it was in color, to me it would be preferred over the iPad.
That's why I am getting the Notion Ink Adam.
If I had a dollar for every failed pen/pad/tablet device introduced since 1985, I could buy a new battery for my iPad. When Apple announced the iPad pricing, it stuck a knife in the heart of these more expensive devices. Then when Apple announced they could lower iPad prices if necessary, that was Jobs smiling and twisting the knife.
Adios proReader
It has become fairly obvious that most products are fashioned to be released on English speaking markets since "QUE"means "What" in Spanish.
Not so funny dialogue:
-This is the WHAT reader
-What?
-Yes, WHAT reader
-What reader?
Yes, WHAT reader
What are you talking about?
About WHAT.
What?
and so on,
and on...
and on...
@prometeum Haha you made my engadget day. (Engadget on the weekends are pretty slow) so thanks!
Clive, you should be happy that these pre-orders have been halted. This guves you a chance to rethink your decision to pay $800 for an e-reader.
Consider this a sign.
I was actually waiting for this reader for almost a year. When they priced it so ridiculously high, I held off hoping they would reduce it to the $250-$300 range. I think they thought the ipad was going to be over $800 and thought they would be competitive. When apple decided to come out with a glorified iphone and priced it lower, they got screwed.
When Plastic Logic announced the shipment delay, they also said that they would pay shipping costs for the customers who previously preordered the Que. They're probably just trying to limit their exposure for shipping costs by halting additional preorders.
funny pricetag!
They can only produce X amount of displays in Y amount of time. They have to produce for the Pre-orders AND for B&N supply. They have reached the number of orders that they can possibly produce in the next 2 months. To continue to take orders would just anger potential customers who would end up waiting an exorbitant amount of time while stock was sitting on shelves at the stores.
Better to halt them while they get ready to fill orders and then restart them when they are close to producing a next batch