At Last, an E-Reader from the Sharper Image

By  |  Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 12:37 pm

I may have declared e-readers dead prematurely.  The Literati is coming to October to Best Buy, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other mass-market merchants in October. It’s a Sharper Image product–although “The Sharper Image,” like “Polaroid,” is now a floating brand name that available to be licensed for just about anything.

Sounds like the device’s most distinctive feature is its screen: It’s 7″ (an inch bigger than the Kindle and the Nook) and is color (LCD, presumably). No word on what sort of battery life it delivers. There’s Wi-Fi onboard and a wireless bookstore powered by Kobo, the Canadian company behind Borders’ e-reader.

As you can see in the photo below, the Literati looks a bit like a taller, skinnier Kindle. It’ll go for $159–which is a little less than the 3G Kindle and a little more than the Wi-Fi one–or less.

 
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2 Comments For This Post

  1. Joshua Says:
    August 25th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    I met with Sharper Image at CES because I was fascinated by their change from a store to a brand. I think that your characterization of them as "a floating brand name that available to be licensed for just about anything" is incorrect.

    While they are sourcing lots of products from different designers/manufactures there seems to be a strategy behind what they source. Then they packaging/instructions/etc (or spec the packaging) to have a common look, etc.

    Unlike GE who seems to license to many various consumer electronics companies for clock radions, telephone, digital cameras with no common look/feel/strategy, Shaper Image seems to be approaching this the right way and trying to build an image and feel for their brand.

  2. tomretterbush Says:
    August 26th, 2010 at 3:42 am

    I always though of the Sharper Image as having the newest tech around, so it was a little baffling not to see an ereader in their catalog until now. And then, to the Image's credit, it delivers a bigger screen than either Kindle or Nook, in color and all at a competitive price! I am impressed!