The eReader market is about to get truly crowded, with lots of competition on deck for Amazon’s flagship Kindle. With the Barnes & Noble eReader slated to hit next year, LG’s solar powered device, and Spring Design’s Alex running Android all coming up to bat very soon, digital book reading is seriously heating up.

Now we have more information on another player in this space. We knew a large-format eReader was on the way from a company called Plastic Logic since last CES, when they debuted a prototype of an 8.5 x 11-inch E-Ink device. Today the device gets a name: the QUE proReader, and an official debutante date: January 7, 2010 — again at the Consumer Electronics Show.

What sets the QUE apart from other offerings to date is its target audience: business professionals. We’ve already seen the Kindle DX be first to market with a letter-sized large-format eReader, but the QUE takes that format and aims it squarely at an audience looking for a competitive edge in the business world.

Featuring support for typical business document formats including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF, the QUE will also access a content store tailoring to the needs of business users. Able to connect either over Wi-Fi or via AT&T’s 3G network, Plastic Logic’s QUE will access a store powered by Barnes & Noble, marking a rather “platform agnostic” approach on the part of B&N, who as mentioned previously will also be launching their own eReader device.

Still unknown at this point are an official release date and the all-important marketplace arbiter: price. We do have new photos of the device now, which feature an attractively sleek and black finish whereas previous prototypes have been a rather unassuming off-white. Check out a few at the end of this post.

Who is your pick for the most interesting upcoming eReader? Do you have your eye on any of the devices forthcoming from Barnes & Noble, LG, Spring Design or Plastic Logic? Or will you hold out and buy your digital books from Google?








[mashable]