Sharp axes its 5.5in and 10.8in Galapagos tablet range

JAPANESE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS COMPANY Sharp has decided to axe its 5.5in and 10.8in Galapagos tablet range only nine months after launch, echoing HP's recent decision to abandon its Touchpad.

Sharp said that it decided to discontinue the original Galapagos tablets because they have "fulfilled the purposes that they were designed for", a vague statement that suggests they were not selling quite as well as Sharp had hoped for, unless they were designed to be discontinued after less than a year on the market.

Sharp will continue to produce and sell a new 7in model, however, which it launched last month. This device was made for Japanese broadband company Eaccess, which obviously wouldn't be happy if Sharp decided to pull the plug on it so soon.

"We believe the market for electronic books will continue to expand. We are continuing our business in the segment," said a Sharp spokesperson, according to French news agency AFP. This statement suggests that it is going to focus solely on the growing ebook market, leaving the larger tablet market to the big players like Apple and Samsung.

A lack of sales is likely to be the primary reason for the discontinuation, but Sharp is keeping mum about how many Galapagos tablets it sold. Part of the problem for Sharp might have been its sales approach, which was restricted to mail order and the internet. With no tablets in stores to compete with the popular Ipads, it's no wonder that sales have been poorer than expected.

Sharp's decision comes less than a month after HP decided to axe its Touchpad tablet, which some believe still has a fighting chance in the market. The question is whether Sharp will decide to sell off any remaining 5.5in and 10.8n Galapagos tablets at fire sale prices like HP did, which could lead to an avalanche of falling tablet prices, something that market leader Apple won't be keen to see. µ