Of all the media that have resisted the shift towards digital repackaging in portable form, books are probably the most stubborn – partly because of the traditional mindset of publishing, but mostly because attempts to create an electronic device that people will enjoy curling up with have proven less than dazzling.

In short, “e-readers” have never been able to shake the appearance and feel of something one might buy in an electronics store, meaning that they radiate as much “curl-up factor” as a chopping board.

A small Cambridge-based company is aiming to change this, as it enters the final stages of designing an e-reader which for the first time will dispense with the need for a glass screen.

The uniqueness of Plastic Logic’s device, prototypes of which have been seen by The Times, is in the semi-conductor that transmits messages to the display; being made of plastic, it can be bent or dropped without breaking.

It has the dimensions of a magazine, is suitably light, and displays black and white text on a nonshiny surface that is not “lit” the way a screen would be, giving it a remarkable resemblance to paper.

One of the trial designs seen by The Times comprises a screen backed by soft, white leather, which is folded over and buttoned in the manner of a wallet. The fact that it looks more like something one might buy in Gucci than in Maplin will no doubt add to its appeal.

The new technology, known as “e-ink”, divides each square inch of the page into 22,500 “microcapsules”, which are either “on”, making them black, or “off” (white).

The device, which does not yet have a name, will upload content from a source – much as a podcast is uploaded from a website – and display the text in a publicly available format, such as PDF.

There will be three sizes – A4, handbag and pocket – and initially the image will only be black and white, although the company aims to introduce colour, and possibly video, in later models.

Simon Jones, Plastic Logic’s vice-president of product development, said: “The most important challenge is maintaining the look and feel of a newspaper or magazine with a screen that’s big enough, and to assure media companies that the device will represent their content in a way which is loyal to the brand.”

He added that the company is in talks with a number of leading newspapers.

Plastic Logic, which was spun off from a Cambridge University laboratory in 2000, has so far raised just under $150 million (£76 million) in four rounds of venture capital funding. It has 60 patents associated with its new semi-conductor, and has begun work on a $100 million manufacturing plant in Dresden, where production is due to start next year. Analysts said there were a number of potential applications for e-readers – in healthcare, for instance, enabling doctors to call up patient records while on the move, and in the general professional environment, allowing offices to cut down on paper use.

There was also scope for a large-scale consumer device but, Carl Gressum, an analyst with Ovum, said. “As with all these kinds of devices, especially from a consumer point of view, whether they succeed will depend on the cost and the value proposition”.

The first model will retail for about £100, Plastic Logic said.

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