As the world anticipates the Apple Tablet (iPad?) and Amazon quickly tries to grab marketshare with its new global Kindle, some new competitors are previewing eReaders that should make 2010 the year of the MID. First, PlasticLogic is teasing people with its new QUE, to be unveiled at CES in January. The Que is positining as an enterprise platform/tool to differentiate from the mass of consumer readers:

QUE is designed to simplify the multi-faceted lifestyle of the modern businessperson, and to quite literally lighten their workload. In addition to connecting its users with their business and professional newspapers, books and periodicals, QUE supports the document formats business users need (including PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents) and features powerful tools for interacting with and managing the content . . .

More than an eReader, QUE means business. Extra thin, lightweight and wireless-enabled, QUE is the size of an 8.5 x 11 inch pad of paper, less than a 1/3 inch thick, and weighs less than many periodicals. The innovative QUE proReader features the largest touchscreen in the industry, an intuitive touch screen user interface, and provides access to a file cabinet’s worth of documents, plus your favorite—and most necessary—publications. 

Spring Design announced a novel, dual-screen Android-based reader ("Alex"): 

Alex’s revolutionary dual-screen display design brings together the efficiency of reading on a monochrome EPD (electronic paper display) screen while dynamic hyperlinked multimedia information and third party input on its secondary color LCD screen, actually an integrated Android mobile device, opens a rich world of Internet content to support the text on the main screen. Alex, the first Google Android-based e-book device to provide full Internet browsing over Wi-Fi or mobile networks such as 3G, EVDO/CDMA and GSM. With its dual-screen, multi-access capability, it provides the entire Web universe as a handy reference library, prompting users to delve into its vast information base to complement, clarify or enhance what they are reading. Alex is the first truly mobile wireless e-book device that gives users their own personalized library on the go, whenever and wherever they need it.

 Alex features a 6" E-Ink EPD display and 3.5" color LCD display, earphones and speakers. A removable SD card will free up library space on the device while letting users archive content for future reference. The enhanced Android OS is optimized to support integration between the color and monochrome displays while preserving battery life. Users can capture and cache web content from their online experience on the LCD screen, and toggle to view it on the EPD screen without taxing the battery life. Browser features such as bookmarking, history, and security settings are built in, and the device with full Android browsing capability, is mobile enabled with smart phones capabilities.

The dual-screen approach solves the problem of Web browsing in color and eBook reading in E-Ink in black and white. The absence of a color screen on the Kindle is a long-term strategic problem for the device. I'm not sure that the dual-screen approach is a winning one however. The Barnes & Noble device is rumored to offer a color screen and appears to have a more "elegant" form factor. 

Regardless, it seems as though by this time next year there will be at least 5-10 serious competitors in the space:

• Apple
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Plastic Logic
• Sony
• Samsung  
• LG
• IREX

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Related: PaidContent offers an extensive discussion about the forthcoming 3G iRex Digital Reader 800SG and the strategy being pursued by the company. For example, while there's 3G connectivity, there's no email or Web browsing.