Ten years ago two Cambridge professors, Sir Richard Friend and Henning Sirringhaus, decided to venture into business together. The world-class experts in electronics joined up to form Plastic Logic – a fresh venture that focused on a new idea: electronic books. While the public has taken a long time to warm to the concept, the intervening decade meant there was plenty at stake when the company finally unveiled its first product, the Que, at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Fortunately, it immediately proved a success and stood out as one of the few truly innovative technologies on display. Simple to use, easy to read and light as a feather, the Que's e-ink screen looks and works like touch-sensitive paper – and feels more powerful than competitors like Amazon's Kindle. It is not without its problems – including the speed limitations of e-ink, which make it feel like an early 1990s computer, and a high price tag of at least £400 – but the Que marks a significant advance, nonetheless. While it isn't clear how long Plastic Logic will be a leader in ebooks – particularly since Apple looks set to unveil its own competing device at the end of this month – it is exciting to see a British company at the vanguard of innovation once again. The company might be headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, and it is not yet clear when the ebook will be launched in the UK, but it is heartening to see that the spirit that drove the UK's technology industry to new heights in the 1980s is still very much alive.