Sharp Corp. will start selling its Galapagos electronic book reader at retail shops in addition to its current mail and Internet order marketing to meet customer demand for faster product delivery, President Mikio Katayama said Thursday.
"As we are now offering (related) services stably, the prospect of selling it by hand is in sight," Katayama told reporters. The company is likely to start selling it at some retailers as early as the first half of this year, sources said.
The Galapagos multifunction tablet computer launched last month allows users to read e-books, as well as major newspapers and popular magazines, delivered at designated times.
Sharp currently markets the gadget only by taking orders from customers either mailed using a form placed at retailers and convenience stores or sent on the Internet, requiring two to seven days for delivery of the product from the manufacturer.