As a loyal supporter of Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader, an email from a client titled "Throw that Kindle away!" was sure to catch my interest.
The email linked to a video demonstrating an electronic reader that a U.K. company called Plastic Logic plans to launch next year. The video is eye-catching. Plastic Logic's device — which is powered by the same E Ink technology behind readers offered by Amazon and Sony — is the size of a sheet of paper and has a stunning 13-inch screen.
As the company's name implies, the device is based on plastic technologies originally developed at Cambridge University. Plastic Logic is betting that lower capital costs and a simpler production process will provide it with a sustainable cost advantage over devices based on silicon.
A beautiful design and a sustainable cost advantage certainly sound troubling for Amazon. How worried should Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos be?
Innosight's lenses suggest not too worried, unless Plastic Logic dramatically shifts its approach.
There are two problems with Plastic Logic's approach. First, the company appears to be targeting business users. Its demonstration showed how users can carry the device instead of bushels of documents.
What's wrong with that focus? After all, the business market is where the money is after all. And who likes being weighed down by thick stacks of paper?
Read the rest on Scott's Harvard management blog, Innovation Insights.