Sharp, Sony start taking orders for Galapagos, Reader tablets

Saturday 04th December, 06:08 AM JST

OSAKA —

Both Sharp Corp and Sony Corp started accepting orders Friday for their respective Galapagos multifunction tablet computer and Reader digital reading device to be released simultaneously to the Japanese market a week later.

While Sharp is taking online orders for its product to be sold only via mail order or the Internet, rival Sony is taking orders at shops, sparking a head-on competition in the promising tablet computer market, led by Apple Inc’s iPad, in the country’s year-end shopping season.

At a major electronics retail store in Osaka, an event to allow consumers to experience the Osaka-based Sharp’s new gadget was held the same day.

The Galapagos comes in two models—one with a 10.8-inch screen and a price tag of 54,800 yen and another with a 5.5-inch screen at 39,800 yen—and initially delivers electronic books, magazines and newspapers, with online music and game services due to start next spring.

Sharp plans to recommend suitable e-books to Galapagos users based on their personal information, such as age and sex, obtained from the orders.

The Reader, which has already been released in 13 other countries including the United States, will be Sony’s first e-book business in Japan in three years, and will also roll out in two Japanese-enabled models.

The 5-inch Reader Pocket Edition and 6-inch Touch Edition will likely sell for around 20,000 yen and 25,000 yen, respectively, according to the Tokyo-based manufacturer.