Plastic Logic said its device will be about the size of an 8.5 by 11-inch piece of paper and less than a quarter-inch thick. The company said the intuitive touchscreen will be the largest in the industry and weigh less than many print magazines.

"We're extremely proud to be able to offer the Plastic Logic Reader with the nation's fastest 3G network through AT&T. This alliance is a pillar in our strategy to provide mobile business professionals with a device that delivers a great reading experience," said Richard Archuleta, CEO of Plastic Logic.

Not a Threat To Kindle

The new device will have a plastic screen and plastic electronics with E Ink technology. Plastic Logic said the battery will last for days and connect readers with content from newspapers, books and magazines. It will support multiple formats, including PDF and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

The company said it's not planning to challenge Amazon's popular Kindle e-book reader. "We're actually targeting a different type of customer , the business professional, while Amazon has been targeting the leisure book-reading customers," said Daren Benzi, vice president of business development for Plastic Logic.

The company's announcement appeared to indicate that the wireless connection to AT&T will come with the reader, much like Amazon's Kindle on Sprint's network. Plastic Logic said pricing and availability information will be available when the device begins shipping. AT&T's network may allow the Plastic Logic Reader to work internationally, unlike Amazon's Kindle.

On Tuesday, Barnes & Noble launched an e-book store that will be the exclusive provider of e-books for the Plastic Logic Reader. The store currently has 700,000 titles, including 500,000 without copyright restrictions digitalized by Google. The company expects to offer more than one million titles within a year.

Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said the touchscreen interface will distinguish the Plastic Logic device from Amazon's Kindle e-book reader. She also said the Plastic Logic Reader will be less prone to breakage with plastic electronics instead of a glass backplane. (continued...)

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