Hasta La Gadget!

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 10.8-inch Galapagos EB-WX1GJ ‘media tablet’ hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think Barnes & Noble was just going to let Amazon rest on its “vague sales milestones” laurels, did you? The veteran bookseller just announced that the Nook lineup — 3G, WiFi, and the new Nook Color combined — has become “the company’s biggest bestseller ever in its nearly 40-year history.” That’s bigger than Barnes & Noble’s sales (note: not global sales) of DaVinci Code or any of the Harry Potter novels. Unfortunately, we can’t say exactly just how many that is, as the press release only announces “millions” being sold. A B&N rep we spoke with told us they likely wouldn’t specify any further, nor would there likely be a breakdown of sales by individual model.

Other notable factoids include Nook Color’s reign as the company’s “number one selling gift of the holiday season” and nearly one million “Nook books” downloaded on Christmas Day. In fact, the company now sells more digital books than it does physical books over BN.com (i.e. not including books sold in brick-and-mortar stores). Wish we had some hard figures, but hey, if any company is going to mince words in a sales announcement, it might as well be a book company, right? Press release after the break.

Continue reading Nook lineup sells millions, Barnes & Noble’s best-selling product of all-time

Nook lineup sells millions, Barnes & Noble’s best-selling product of all-time originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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 Galapagos media tablets will bring 3G and EPUB content to US e-reader market in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Consider all the things you’ve bought from Amazon, all the things you wanted to, but couldn’t afford to buy from Amazon, all the wildly popular fashions and fads that have gone through that online store’s brief, but torrid history … each of those has now been overshadowed by the mighty sales of the third-generation Kindle. Jeff Bezos and team have today announced that their latest and greatest Kindle has become their bestselling product of all time, thanks in no small part to an aggressive price that’s been “low enough that people don’t have to choose,” as Jeff puts it, between an e-reader and a tablet — they’ve just gone and bought both, apparently. Alas, we’re still no closer to knowing the exact figure of Kindle sales, but who really cares at this point, the thing’s looking like a runaway success.

Continue reading Amazon’s third-gen Kindle is now its best-selling product… of all time!

Amazon’s third-gen Kindle is now its best-selling product… of all time! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E-readers are flooding the market these days, and KDDI has delivered its most recent offering just in time for the holiday season. Since the biblio Leaf SP02‘s specs were first released, battery life seems to have grown to 13,000 pages, with presumably a few extra thrown in courtesy of its solar array. The device utilizes KDDI’s LISMO Book Store and its 20,000 titles to obtain content, and if that isn’t enough reading material for you, the company claims that five times as many titles will be available by 2012. All this can be had on Christmas day — if you’re lucky enough to hail from the land of the rising sun, that is.

Update: Details on the e-reader, much like the device itself, seem to have gotten lost in translation. As a few readers have pointed out — and our own Engadget Japanese editor Ittousai confirms — the SP02 has an “open” price of around ¥15,000 (about $180 in US currency), with 3G prices ranging from ¥525 per month for data on a two-year contract, or ¥1,575 without ($6.28 vs. $19, respectively).

KDDI’s biblio Leaf SP02 priced, due out Christmas Day in Japan (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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