If you’re looking to pick up a new notebook or desktop PC, you’ve got one less brand to choose from now. Sharp has just announced that they’ll stop sales and production of PCs now, and will choose to focus on coming up with tablets and ebook readers instead. Probably a smart move, seeing that notebook sales have been dropping all over thanks to all the tablets (we’re looking at you, iPad) selling like digital pancakes. Probably not a big deal to you if you aren’t shopping around in Japan where Sharp heavily peddles their products, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for their upcoming Galapagos tablet and e-book reader, which could reach Verizon by December.
Check out the new ad for the Amazon Kindle, where guy-with-something-that-looks-like-an-iPad can’t read anything on the glossy screen under the sunlight. Beside him? Hot-bikini-girl with the third-gen Amazon Kindle, who can easily read the screen thanks to the reader’s E-ink display. That much wasn’t explained in the short ad, although hot-bikini-girl did mention that it only costs $139. The point? We get it, and we agree to a certain extent. The Kindle’s a better all-around reader than the iPad. Way cheaper too. But if we were sitting in the lounger beside hot bikini girl, we probably wouldn’t be able to read either. Even if we had, like, a dozen Kindles. Oh, and her sunglasses didn’t really look that expensive, but they apparently were.
Velocity Micro, the brand behind the 7-inch Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet, just started taking preorders for the two Android-based slates they previewed last month. Scheduled to ship next month, they’re a couple of the first few mainstream Android tablets to be released, so you might want to check ‘em out if you’re looking for cheaper, more compact touchscreen slates that don’t come with an Apple logo at the back.
Asus CEO Jerry Shen confirmed in an interview that they’re readying an Android-based version of the Eee Pad for a March 2011 release. It’s a long ways from getting to market, but the price is just about right at “less than $399.” That’s a cool $100 less than the iPad—never mind that we could be hearing about a new iPad by that time, but unless Apple comes out with a sub-$400 slate, it’s all good for Asus.
Asus updated their launch plans for the 8-inch Eee Tablet, announcing an October launch and a price that’s sounds a little bit too crazy for an ebook reader. Previously estimated to cost around $199 to $299 back in May, the new announcement now pegs the price at “below $599.”
