The New Sharp Plans To Take Over The eReading Market
By cee, July 25, 2010
The Japanese ebook market is now estimated at 46 billion yen ($500 million), but a large majority of its sales come from mobile phones and PCs. With such a promising market, it’s not surprising that Sharp is jumping into the eReader scene.
The Sharp eReaders
Sharp is hoping to take over the eReader market with two eReaders, a 5.5 –inch and a 10.8-inch model. One version will resemble the Apple iPhone, while the other will resemble the iPad. They are planned to be released by the end of 2010 in Japan. This will be followed by a US release (probably in 2011). According to SlashGear, US owners will connect to the Sharp online store and the World Wide Web via the Verizon network.
The devices will use a proprietary format developed by Sharp called XDMF format. No word yet whether the devices will support non-XDMF formats. Sharp will offer ebooks and newspapers provided by major Japanese publishers and newspaper companies.
Upon the release of the eReaders, the Sharp online ebookstore will be ready with 29,000 titles. The company has also said it has agreement with publishers ‘overseas’.
As AFP has reported, Sharp’s plans are not contained to ebooks; the devices will play audio and video.
Sharp’s XMDF format: A Close Look
The XMDF format is not a new Sharp invention. Launched in 2001, the format was developed by the company for its “Pocket Zaurus” handheld device. It is also available for PCs, laptops, and mobile phones as well as Sharp e-dictionaries and televisions.
For its eReaders, Sharp has the format upgraded. According to the company, the improved XMDF has the capability to integrate multi-media content into text. This will enable the Sharp devices to embed videos and flashy animations into ebooks or newspapers.
Sharp eReaders Plans
Even with details this few, it’s clear what direction Sharp is following. It is taking the Apple way of cornering the eReading market: release a multi-media device with a built-in eReader and market it as an eReader.
In other words, the Sharp eReaders are designed to be able to do many things instead of doing the single thing that eReaders are supposed to focus on: to read and read only. Thus, as with the iPad and other tablets, they will cater more to casual readers.
This type of readers will not mind the glaring, sunlight-unreadable LCD screen since they will not use the device to read pages after pages of novel. They don’t mind having many reading distractions for they plan to use the device mostly to watch videos, play games, or browse the web.
Despite the obvious aspiration to become tablets, the Sharp devices will still be marketed as eReaders. The reason is pretty obvious: the ebook market is pretty lucrative, and Sharp very much hopes to get a large cut of it. In fact, Amazon has recently announced that their Kindle ebook sales have exceeded hardbound sales in the past 3 months.
The sales ratio is 143 Kindle books to 100 hardbound books. It’s no surprise why everyone wants a piece of the ebook market.
Can the Sharp eReaders Take Over the eReading Market?
For Sharp to be able to take over the eReading market, it must be able to get its eReaders into the hands of consumers first. Sharp can only achieve this if :
(1) it proves its devices are better devices than the iPad, and (2) it sets the price right relative to the Kindle and the Nook and the iPad.
In other words, it has to be a more compelling alternative
Comments