Suddenly, Kindle Faces A Crowded Field As Plastic Logic Beefs Up Its e-Reader

One thing seems certain about electronics: first-mover advantage often doesn’t last very long. That certainly is true for Amazon’s Kindle, which looked to corner the e-reader market but now must fend off a growing list of challengers.

Apple is reportedly preparing an Internet Tablet that may be out for the holidays, and is also said to be working on some A-list content providers for the new device.

The deep-pocketed list of competitors for the Kindle doesn’t stop there. Barnes and Noble, AT&T and Plastic Logic are teaming up on an e-reader that potentially could trump the Kindle.

It should all add up to a dreamy holiday shopping season with other players possibly getting into the fray. Samsung just announced a new e-reader that it admits is an entry-level model that cannot compete with the Kindle. However, Samsung is a global player in personal technology and isn’t likely to lag behind forever.

“We seek to become a bigger player than Amazon or Sony in the e-book market,” Lew Jae-young, vice president of Samsung Electronics, told the Korea Herald.

Samsung might want to include Barnes and Noble/Plastic Logic/AT&T in that list. Plastic Logic’s partnership with AT&T gives it access to the network’s 3G system in the United States. That means fast, on-the-go download capability, a much-needed feature that makes the Plastic Logic e-reader a true competitor to the Kindle.

Also, the Plastic Logic e-reader will offer support for popular business-related documents, including PDF files and Microsoft Office format documents.

Overall, it’s a dynamic package – the ability to download through the 3G system, hop online at wireless hotspots and open PDF and Word files. And that may just be the beginning.

Look out, Kindle. The competition is gaining.

About the Author
I have been knocking around the digital world since, well, a very long time. I can remember watching AP stories crawl across the screen on 300-baud dial-up during the early days of Compuserve and Prodigy. And yes, I vividly remember those pay-by-the-hour days on AOL. Since those early times I have held a variety of jobs in the interactive space, but I am probably best known for founding the original blackvoices.com. I raised $5 million in start-up money from Tribune Co. and hired a staff totaling nearly 40, with offices in L.A., Chicago and New York. Later, we sold the company to AOL, where it continues to thrive as one of the leaders in its category. Today I am still active in the space consulting with folks on a variety of projects.
See all posts by Barry Cooper.