Plastic Logic QUE Reader to be sold in Barnes & Noble locations next year

Plastic Logic QUE Reader for sale at B&N locations next year

While the announcement wasn’t unexpected after knowing that the QUE would tap into the B&N online eBook store, it’s the first confirmation that the QUE would have a physical retail presence. Barnes and Noble announced their Nook eReader last week which is a dual screened (6 inch E-Ink display and 3.5 inch LCD touchscreen) eReader with 3G connectivity for $259. While it is strange for two eReaders to be sold in a store that owns one of the devices, but QUE and Nook don’t have much chance of cannibalizing each others market. The Nook will be a cheaper, smaller eReader with a focus on consumers while the QUE will be a larger format (8.5″ x 11″) with a focus on commercial or business use. And while there’s been no official price on the QUE Reader we expect it to be significantly higher than the Nook’s $259 (which could potentially drop lower by the time of the QUE’s debut).

See the full Plastic Logic press release after the cut.

QUE™ proReader by Plastic Logic to be Sold in Barnes & Noble Stores

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 27, 2009 – Plastic Logic and Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today announced that QUE™ (pronounced “Q”), the first proReader designed for business professionals, will be sold through Barnes & Noble’s nationwide network of stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com (http://www.bn.com).

The distribution agreement marks an expansion of the relationship between the two companies. Earlier this year, Plastic Logic and Barnes & Noble announced a strategic partnership through which Barnes & Noble will power the online store for QUE, which is coming in 2010 (information can be found at http://www.QUEreader.com). QUE will also be featured near the recently announced nook™, the Barnes & Noble eBook reader, on free-standing displays with signage offering Barnes & Noble customers choice based on their reading needs.

Scheduled to premiere January 7, 2010 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (Central Hall of Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth 11840), QUE is the first eReader designed to support the lifestyle of modern business professionals. More than an eReader, QUE means business. “We are very excited to name Barnes & Noble as our first retail distribution partner and to have QUE featured prominently in its stores,” said Richard Archuleta, CEO of Plastic Logic. “QUE was designed from the ground up as a tool for busy business professionals, expanding the eReader market as its first and only proReader.”

QUE provides access to a file cabinet’s worth of documents, ranging from business and professional newspapers, periodicals and books – with over 1 million eBooks available through the QUE store, powered by Barnes & Noble. It supports the document formats business users need (including PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel documents and more). Extra thin, lightweight and wirelessenabled, QUE is the size of an 8.5 x 11 inch pad of paper, about a 1/3 inch thick, and weighs less than many periodicals. QUE stands out in a crowd because it’s a business reader, but it’s also unique for its shatterproof plastic display, which is based on Plastic Logic’s pioneering plastic electronics technology. QUE also distinguishes itself with the largest touchscreen in the industry, an intuitive touchscreen user interface, and powerful tools for interacting with and managing a range of content.

“We’re excited to expand our relationship with Plastic Logic to include not only an eBookstore, but also a physical presence in our bookstores nationwide and on BN.com,” said William J. Lynch, president of BN.com. “QUE is an incredibly innovative product and a great device for business professionals. Carrying Nook and QUE allows us to provide consumers a one-stop destination in Barnes & Noble stores to demo and buy two of the best eBook readers on the market. It also supports our digital strategy to offer customers choice, expand the market overall, and deliver on our promise to provide any book, any time, anywhere.” Full product specifications, availability and pricing of QUE will be announced on January 7, 2010 at CES.