Great technology — however cool — isn’t always enough (paidcontent)

On the surface, Plastic Logic had it all. When the British company first emerged 12 years ago, it looked as if it could become a technology giant: after all, it was spun out of one of the world's great universities, staffed by amazing engineers, and owned a killer product -- electronic displays that could be printed on plastic as thin as a credit card. But when the company announced on Wednesday that it was ditching its hardware business to focus on licensing its technology, it marked the end of a troubled decade in which it tried, and tried -- and ultimately failed -- to reach its ambitious goals.. Of course, the news was presented with an attempt at positive spin: chief executive Indro Mukerjee referred to the move as a revamp, suggesting that there were actually much bigger opportunities in selling the technology on to other businesses. But he's not fooling anybody: this strategic about-face might make sense for the business as it stands today, but it has finally killed off the company's long-burning ambition to revolutionize the consumer market. In fact, it's such a strategic turnaround that, as of today, Plastic Logic has even stripped ...

paidcontent