Sharp Discontinues 2 Of 3 Galapagos Tablet Models, Only The 7-Inch Version Lives On

About a year ago, Sharp decided to enter the rapidly growing tablet market with the terribly named Galapagos, two Android devices sized at 5.5 and 10.8 inches that went on sale in Japan last December. The company then launched a 7-inch version on the Japanese market last month and announced that model will hit the US “this year”.

But sales must have been really bad for the initial models, the 5.5- and the 10.8-inch versions, as Sharp Japan today announced [JP] it will stop taking orders for the Galapagos in those sizes from September 30. The company said, however, that it will continue to offer the 7-inch version in Japan (where it costs US$587).

Just like in the rest of the world, the iPad is the tablet to beat in Japan: Tokyo-based market research firm BCN estimates that the Apple device commanded 64.8% of the Japanese market for tablets in July.