Plastic Logic Reader priced to compete with Kindle 2

[daffy4u]

From Teleread:

But now the Times in the U.K.—a partner of Plastic Logic—is saying launch of the Plastic Logic e-reader in the States will be in at the start of 2010.

Price is to be similar to the Kindle’s, now selling for $299. UK launch is to follow later that year or the next.

[JSWolf]

If this is true and the hardware/software is good, this could be a killer at that price.

[Kris777]

price can be changed as soon as they produce it. I remember ASTAK promised 5" eBook reader for $159 one year ago but sell it for $229 now...

[frozennorth]

I wonder if they mixed up kindle 2 and kindle dx. I bet it will be priced more closely to the dx.

[Sweetpea]

UK launch is to follow later that year or the next.

So, the UK will get a year old device for the same price as the US got the new one...
I'll never understand why they insist on not launching a device at the same time everywhere...

[Ervserver]

I read somewhere the queen tests the devices for a year so before they are released to the general public

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

So, the UK will get a year old device for the same price as the US got the new one...
I'll never understand why they insist on not launching a device at the same time everywhere...

[mjmcleod]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

So, the UK will get a year old device for the same price as the US got the new one...
I'll never understand why they insist on not launching a device at the same time everywhere...

At least the UK stands some chance of getting the thing. It looks nifty but I won't be holding my breath for an Australian launch.

I'd imagine part of the slow-rollout approach to releasing new products will be to do with production and distribution capacity.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by mjmcleod

At least the UK stands some chance of getting the thing. It looks nifty but I won't be holding my breath for an Australian launch.

I'd imagine part of the slow-rollout approach to releasing new products will be to do with production and distribution capacity.

I'm not holding my breath for a mainland European launch either...

[Abecedary]

This is one of those instances where it helps to go to the source article:
"The Plastic Logic will be launched in the US at the beginning of next year at a similar price to the Kindle, which starts at $299."

Since we know the Plastic Logic reader is comparable to the DX, it makes sense that the price would be similar to the DX model, not the Kindle 2 (which is the model that "starts at $299"). So basically they're saying the price is expected to be in the ~$500ish range. As someone else already pointed out, the "expected to be" prices tend to be on the low side, so I won't be surprised if it's closer to $550 or $600 when it actually is released. That is unless they offer some sort of partnership discount with it (a la "buy a year of the NYTimes and get it for $450"). Of course, this is all just speculation on my part. But I like to speculate.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Abecedary

So basically they're saying the price is expected to be in the ~$500ish range. As someone else already pointed out, the "expected to be" prices tend to be on the low side, so I won't be surprised if it's closer to $550 or $600 when it actually is released.

I agree. My reading of the article is that the Plastic Logic representative said "similar price to the Kindle" (meaning the Kindle DX) and the reporter added "which starts at $299" (meaning the Kindle 2). I also would not be surprised at a ~$600 price, but that is still significantly less then they probably planned on earlier this year. The iRex DR1000S (with less capable hardware) is currently $859. If they are planing on a ~$500 price point, then they must also be planning on at least hundreds of thousands of units per year. That may be realistic, given strong interest from newspapers.

[daffy4u]

It does make more sense if they are talking about the DX but it could be K2. Though *we* all call it "Kindle 2", Amazon just calls it Kindle (and Kindle [1st Generation] and Kindle DX). It would not have been difficult to add the DX after Kindle and quote the correct DX price.

[Kali Yuga]

If Plastic Logic can afford to put out a device with an 8.5" x 11" touch screen and wi-fi for $300, I'm going to take a wild guess that all other e-book reader manufacturers will be able to more or less match them. PL only makes revenue off the devices, and I can't imagine them manufacturing (let alone selling) enough to get a better volume discount on the screens or other components than Sony or Amazon.

I.e. I'll wait for an official announcement rather than treat the speculations of a newspaper article as "factual."

[pking36330]

Any chance they meant 299 Pounds in the article and not 299 Dollars?
That would make it closer to the KindleDX price + VAT.

[daffy4u]

There is an update to this saga from ireaderreview.

There have been some reports that implied Plastic Logic had announced their price, Plastic Logic has not announced pricing for the product and does not plan to until launch in January 2010.

I can tell you that we plan to be competitive in the eReader category, where prices now range from $199 to $800. But we won’t be at the low end of the market. That’s because we’re providing business professionals with some of the industry’s most advanced technologies, including our large plastic screen, ultra-thin and lightweight form factor that offers users a digital reading experience unlike any other.

[Dylrob]

As I recall one of the original claims with the plastic substrate technology is that it was going to make the screens a lot cheaper to manufacture than the current glass based ones. If this is the case than I wouldn't rule out the possibility that their device will at least be less than others with similar sized eInk displays.