Sharp is discontinuing the production of two of its Galapagos tablets-10.8-inch and 5.5-inch models just 10 months after launching them. Sharp will continue to sell the 7-inch Galapagos model, which runs Android 3.2. With a bright, color LCD screen and Android operating system, the Galapagos tablet appeared closer to an iPad.The main problem was that users were not allowed to download or install software of their choice. The device was also limited to Sharp’s e-book reader software and was introduced without a multimedia player.
Galapagos tablet computers, which let people read e-books, newspapers and popular magazines delivered at designated times, are apparently no competition for industry leader Apple iPad. Sharp was aiming to sell 1 million of the tablet PCs this year and become an iPad competitor, but its lack of content proved to be an insurmoutable stumbling block. Sharp will halt sales of its new Galapagos tablet computers on Sept. 30, just 10 months after launch.