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Japan: the country where flip-phones refuse to die
The buttons are easier to type on, the battery lasts longer, it's familiar. No, we're not talking about BlackBerry this time, but the Japanese feature phone. Glorious, folding forefather to the smartphone, and the form-factor that gave birth to gara-kei, a shorthand phrase for "Galapagos phones". It's a negative term pointing to devices that simply wouldn't survive outside of Japan. However, it's not stopped the country's biggest carrier, NTT Docomo, from revealing two new feature phone models (and a refreshed paint job for an older phone) just last week. Our Engadget Japanese colleagues were told by Docomo's spokesman that these phones are still so popular with some customers that they practically sell themselves -- many still enter their stores looking for a new flip-phone, not a smartphone.
Google Trekker to put the Galapagos Islands on Street View, one tortoise at a time
Google's Street View Trekker has already captured some dramatic scenery in its young life, but we haven't seen it venture far beyond US borders. The company is making up for that in style through its recently completed image-gathering expedition to the Galapagos Islands. The visit will produce 360-degree shots of 10 representative areas chosen by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Parks Directorate. There's more involved than just stunning Google Maps imagery, however: the panoramas will help document any threats to the local climate and wildlife. While we'll only see the results of the Galapagos trip later this year, it's good to know that they should help both humans and slow-moving reptiles in equal measure.
David Attenborough to produce Galapagos islands documentary for Sky 3D, be really British
A living British treasure makes a 3D documentary that much better. On Thursday, the Sky television network announced that Sir David Attenborough will be embarking on his fourth 3D project with Sky, a three-part natural history series centering on the Galapagos islands. Galapagos 3D, which is set to air on Sky 3D in late 2012, will be written and presented by Attenborough and follows several successful collaborations between Sky and Atlantic Productions, including the BAFTA-winning Flying Monsters 3D, The Bachelor King 3D (which airs on New Year's Eve) and Kingdom of Plants 3D, a series based at Kew Gardens (due to air on Sky 3D next year). The series will include both micro and macro filming on location as well 3D visual effects which discuss both the Galapagos islands and the forces that helped shape them. In other news, David Attenborough really likes hanging around thousands of sea birds, and if there's a windbreaker he can wear while doing it, then he's set.
Sharp to discontinue original Galapagos e-readers, 7-inch species survives
We're raising our glasses to the original Galapagos e-reader this morning, because Sharp has decided to discontinue it. Today, the manufacture announced that it will stop taking orders for its 5.5- and 10.8-inch Android tablets on September 30th, just nine months after they first launched. A company spokeswoman, however, confirmed that Sharp isn't leaving the market altogether, as it plans to continue churning out the 7-inch A01SH that launched last month. The Japan-based firm is confident that "the market for electronic books will continue to expand," but decided to terminate its older slates because they've already "fulfilled the purposes that they were designed for." Sharp declined to disclose sales figures for the doomed devices, though local media outlets are reporting that they may have been squeezed out of the Japanese market by the iPad -- a decidedly Darwinian explanation.
Sharp Galapagos A01SH tablet goes on sale in Japan from $1, comes with a catch
Sharp's 7-inch tablet running Android 3.2? Yeah, it's taking its sweet time arriving stateside, though our friends in Japan can get the Galapagos A01SH now for a starting price of... $1 (¥100). There's more than a little fine print, of course, which states you have to sign up with an ISP to score that deal -- a curious promotion given that this is a WiFi-only slate (carriers will bundle it with a portable hotspot). Those who like their tabs no strings attached can scoop one up for ¥44,800 ($583). As for those of you mumbling something about how we need another Tegra 2-powered Android tablet like we need a hole in the head, remember that this remains one of a handful of 7-inchers running Android 3.2 -- a space currently occupied by the Acer Iconia Tab A100, ViewSonic ViewPad 7x and forthcoming Huawei MediaPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. So if you're dead-set on a 7-inch tab, like Honeycomb and are lucky enough to be wandering the streets of Nippon, have at it, folks.
7-inch Sharp Galapagos A01SH tablet sees formal introduction, hitting the US 'this year'
How much is that tablet in the window? The one with the 7-inch screen and Android 3.2? Hard to say, but it might be the Sharp Galapagos A01SH you're looking at. The slate, announced in earnest today, should fit comfortably betwixt the 5.5- and 10.8-inch variants of the lineup that are also expected to arrive sometime before the end of the year. The A01SH is accompanied by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, a WSVGA display with 1,024 x 600 resolution, 8GB of internal memory alongside microSD support, 5MP / 2MP cameras along the back and front, and 7.5 hours of battery life. At a thickness of 12.9mm, it's not as thin as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it's no Toshiba Thrive, either. The tablet should reach stores in Japan by the end of the month, but the only timeframe given for a US release is before the ball drops in Times Square -- perfect timing for anyone who wants to ring in 2012 snuggled up to a new gadget.
Sharp sends another Galapagos tablet through the FCC, keeps all the pertinent details to itself
Over the past six months, we've gotten scant few details about when, exactly, Sharp's Galapagos tablets will at last make the long trip stateside. When they do, though, it might be an even bigger family than we were expecting. We took note when the 10.8-inch EB-WX1GJ slipped through the FCC, making reference to another slate -- the 5.5-inch EB-W51GJ -- in its user manual. Now, yet another slate has passed the FCC's battery of tests. It's called the EB-W71LJ-H, and based on Sharp's naming convention thus far, we suspect it could have a 7-inch display, which would be a nice, just-right complement to the 10- and 5-inch models we already knew about. Based on the test results, we also know it has a 802.11b/g/n WiFi radio, but other than that, the report is devoid of specs, as Sharp asked the FCC to refrain from playing show-and-tell with its trade secrets. For now, though, you at least don't have to wonder where the company plans to slap that requisite label.
Sharp confirms Galapagos tablet for the US, won't commit to any particular specs
We've got a pretty good idea what Sharp's Galapagos tablet will look like when it hits the states later this year, but Sharp actually won't say -- today, it admitted that a tablet called Galapagos will indeed ford the ocean from Japan in 2011, but wouldn't confirm or deny a 3G module, its operating system, or even the expected screen size, saying that the company was "still studying" all possibilities. Boo. It will retain Sharp's proprietary XMDF e-book format, however, the better to adjust the layout of its DRM-saturated content as you transition between tablet and Sharp television screens, but also support EPUB documents and pull down email and websites over WiFi. If you want a closer look at what the tablets will probably look like, spot three mockups in our gallery below. %Gallery-112764%
Sharp's 10.8-inch Galapagos EB-WX1GJ 'media tablet' hits the FCC
We've already heard that Sharp was planning to bring its Galapagos tablets / e-readers to the US, and it looks like they've now crossed one key hurdle on that path -- or one of the tablets has, at least. The 10.8-inch EB-WX1GJ "media tablet" recently passed through the FCC, where it posed for the camera, went through the usual battery of tests, and picked out a nice spot for an FCC label. Not much in the way of surprises at this point, but the device's user manual does also mention the 5.5-inch EB-W51GJ model, so it may well be following it's larger counterpart through the FCC, if it hasn't already. There also happens to be a rather large technology trade show happening this week, which seems like an ideal opportunity for Sharp to divulge some additional details. We'll keep you posted if that happens.
Sharp Galapagos media tablets will bring 3G and EPUB content to US e-reader market in 2011
We like a bit of ambition around these parts and Sharp's plans for entering the US e-reader battlefield reek of the stuff. The Galapagos tablets that recently enjoyed their Japanese debut are going to be retooled, according to the Mainichi Daily News, to include new 3G radios for the internet-addicted US consumer, while the primary content format will also be switched from the proprietary XMDF in Japan to the almost universally compatible EPUB. Content partnerships are said to be brewing as we type, because, quite naturally, Sharp intends to have its own e-bookstore for Americans as well. After the Yanks, the company's said to be looking into bringing its 5.5- and 10.8-inch tablets to China, India, and Brazil. Highly ambitious indeed.
Sharp's Galapagos media tablets landing December 10, costing quite a few yen
Sharp's evolutionary tablets are coming, people. It's just that they're coming to Japan and they're not going to be terribly affordable when they do arrive. The Kin maker has just revealed a December 10 launch date for its Mobile and Home Galapagos models -- a 5.5-inch slate with 1024 x 600 resolution and a 10.8-incher with 1366 x 800 resolution, respectively -- pricing them at ¥39,800 ($474) and ¥54,800 ($653) for the Japanese market. As usual, direct currency translations are inadvisable, but if you must have a price comparison of some sort, the larger Galapagos model (equipped with an 8GB microSDHC storage card) costs ¥4,000 less than Apple's 32GB WiFi-only iPad. Of course, the big differentiator in Sharp's mind will be the e-bookstore and content ecosystem it's working so hard to create for these Galapagos terminals -- the value of which has yet to be determined.
Sharp plans 3D smartphones for US, China and India in 2011
It might be all Japanese to you now, but Sharp's autostereoscopic 3D is coming to a smartphone near you next year. The tech will debut next month on the Softbank-bound Galapagos 003SH and 005SH Android handsets, but now Sharp has confirmed its intention to also bring it Stateside as well as to two of the world's most populous nations in China and India. It's not yet exactly clear what handsets those markets will be getting, but if you're looking for further signs of Sharp's expanding international ambition, the company's reported to also be contemplating extending its e-reading tablet platform out to the US and China. Taken alongside Panasonic's recently announced plans to start selling Android smartphones globally in 2012, this does suggest we might soon be watching a neat little resurgence from our buddies from the land of the rising sun.
Sharp Galapagos 003SH and 005SH bring glasses-free 3D to Japanese Android lovers
Hey, what could the maker of the 3DS' autostereoscopic display be doing in its spare time? Why, stealing a bit of thunder for itself, by the looks of it. Sharp has just trotted out a pair of glasses-free 3D Android handsets for Japan's Softbank network in the form of the touchscreen slate 003SH and QWERTY-slidin' 005SH. A 1GHz Snapdragon powers Froyo on both, with the 3D-capable displays stretching to 3.8 inches and 800 x 480 resolution. The 003SH also comes with a 9.6 megapixel camera, while the 005SH settles for 8 megapixels, although both are capable of 720p video. There are also bundled 3D content deals in place, such as the one with Capcom that will see Mega Man, Resident Evil and Ghosts 'n Goblins titles coming preloaded on the handsets. Intrigued? The 003SH is coming this December, to be followed by the 005SH in February.
Sharp quits the PC business reminding us that Sharp still makes PCs
It's no secret that Japanese consumer electronics companies are having a tough time competing right now (damn Yen). Now Sharp becomes the latest casualty with the announcement that it will exit the cut-throat personal computer business to focus on market segments where it can be profitable. You know, like tablets, where Sharp hopes to have more success with its new Galapagos and related e-book, music, and video services.
Sharp Galapagos e-reading tablets hands-on (video)
Sharp's 5.5-inch and 10.8-inch Galapagos are something to covet. Sharp's got the Android-powered e-reading tablets heavily on display here at CEATEC, meaning of course we jumped at the chance to try it ourselves. The interface is a bit sluggish, as is pinch-to-zoom on the browser. That said, pages (like our darling Engadget) displayed in full and were crisp, as were the supplied magazine examples (Newsweek, GQ -- all in Japanese, naturally). Flash 10 is supported, although we didn't get a chance to try it. The missing trackball on the 10.8-inch model wasn't much of a concern, as it was all but redundant on the 5.5-incher. Looks promising now, but with its US launch not expected until sometime in 2011, no telling what the competition might look like by then. More pictures in the gallery below! %Gallery-104242%
Sharp announces Galapagos e-reading tablets: 5.5 and 10.8 inches, getting e-bookstore in December
Sharp has just taken the veils off its bold new e-reader devices, dubbing them both Galapagos in honor of the evolution the company believes they represent. The 5.5-inch Mobile version (pictured above) has a delightfully dense 1024 x 600 LCD screen, while its 10.8-inch Home sibling offers a very decent 1366 x 800. There's 802.11b/g WiFi on both, while the littler slate is also enriched with a navigational trackball. Sharp's emphasis here really seems to be on the cloud-based ecosystem it's creating for these "terminal" devices -- 30,000 newspapers, magazines and books have been lined up for its planned December launch and an "automatic scheduled delivery" facility will help you get at them as soon as the latest issue's ready for consumption. Sadly, we should note that this is specifically tailored to suit the Japanese market, which makes an international release seem somewhat unlikely. For a size comparison between the two tablets and the full press release, jump past the break.%Gallery-103366%