Sharp launches Galapagos e-readers and cloud services
Offers two book-focused tablets and a store, in Japan first, then elsewhere
Published: 28 September, 2010
READ MORE: Japan | Sharp | eBook | Android
Sharp is stepping up its activities in the e-reader and tablet markets, and like Amazon, it appreciates that success will rely on a strong store and cloud-based platform, not just neat devices. It has unveiled the Galapagos media service, which will initially offer two Android e-readers and a bookstore, and will later be expanded to other content and device types.
The first reader will ship before year end and will have a 5.5-inch LCD screen. It will be followed by a less portable version with ha 10.8-inch display with HD resolution, designed for reading books and magazines, or viewing other content, at home. It is still mainly geared to the written word - like Amazon's larger Kindle DX, it will show magazines and newspapers in full double-page format.
But Sharp is likely to expand the device format in future towards more general media tablets, especially as its screens are full color LCDs rather than traditional e-reader mono e-paper displays, so they look more like tablets (Sharp is a major LCD manufacturer).
The Galapagos bookstore will offer subscriptions for newspapers and magazines as well as free samples of some ebooks and the ability to organize and categorize downloads. This is similar to the Amazon Kindle experience, though Galapagos will not have such as wide range of content, at least at first - it will go live with about 30,000 titles. This will grow with international expansion and at that point, Sharp will support various standard ebook formats, notably ePub, pdf and HTML. In Japan, it will support XMDF (ever-eXtending Mobile Document Format), which was developed by Sharp but has not found its way far outside Japan.
The service will launch in Japan and is expected to come to Europe early next year. It may also have a US channel soon, since Sharp is said to be in talks with Verizon Wireless. Over time it will add broader ecommerce services, video downloads and a full browser, it said, though it is not looking to a fully open platform or apps store, focusing instead on a controlled content experience.
No pricing was disclosed but the e-readers will have Wi-Fi but no 3G connections. The name is oddly chosen for an international launch, too, since in Japanese business circles, 'Galapagos' refers to products or trends that have evolved differently in Japan to other parts of the world (like the wildlife in the Galapagos islands off Ecuador).
"Sharp regards Galapagos as a positive terminology," the company said in statement, insisting it would evoke a "tablet terminal with cutting edge technology and knowhow cultivated in Japan, integrated with global de facto standard technologies."
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