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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.
Disney to sell Android phone in Japan, apparently Apple doesn't care
Disney has decided to debut a new smartphone in Japan, and given Steve Jobs' presence on the company's board of directors, we are surprised to find that the handset will run Android instead of iOS. The phone is essentially a Sharp Galapagos 003SH with a Disney-fied version of Froyo that comes with a Disney email address, exclusive content, and optional custom Disney-themed cases for users who wish to broadcast their allegiance to Mickey Mouse and company. The device is slated for release next month at an undisclosed price, but is only available to our friends in Japan. There's no scheduled US release, so stateside fans will have to look elsewhere for their Disney fix.
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'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 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 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%
