Plastic Logic enters ebook arena

Amazon still has no plans to bring its Kindle ebook reader to Britain the company said as it launched a second-generation model – and Cambridge-based Plastic Logic fleshed out plans for a rival product with a revolutionary slimline design.

The new $359 (£242) Kindle 2 has been slimmed down to 9.1mm case, with 2GB of memory and a screen supporting 16 different shades of grey.

Amazon kept running out of stock of the first version, partly because of a surge in demand after it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show and offered at a discount through her show.

A number of leading US papers and magazines are now available on subscription for reading on the Kindle. But best-selling books tend to be much the same price whether bought in physical or digital form – something that will surely change with time.

It doesn't seem to have affected Kindle sales which reached 500,000 in the first rear, according to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney, who pointed out that that is 32percent more than Apple's iPod in its first year.

Plastic Logic is already signing publishing deals for its eReader, which is expected to launch next year. It has a bigger screen that others on the market, very close to A4 size, and is touch sensitive and mode of durable plastic rather than glass.