TheSharperImage
Latest
Sharper Image Literati e-reader gets a 'don't even bother' review
Well, this isn't good. We didn't have the highest of hopes for the Sharper Image's Literati e-reader, a $159 7-incher announced back in August. Well, it's just gotten a review and... it sounds much, much worse than we expected. In fact, the reviewer failed to find one decent attribute of the reader, but does detail its slowness, its unstable and buggy UI, and poor formatting. The Kobo-driven reader has absolutely no annotating options, not even bookmarks, rendering its full keyboard totally useless. The whole thing sounds like a serious mess to us. Hit up the source link to check out the entire, disparaging review.
Laura June Dziuban10.07.2010
The Sharper Image announces Literati color e-reader
The Sharper Image may not be quite the retail presence it once was, but it looks like it's still in good enough shape to hop on the latest trend -- it's just announced "The Literati by The Sharper Image," a $159 e-reader with a 7-inch color screen. That device actually comes courtesy of MerchSource, and relies on Kobo's ebook service to get books on the device (which can be downloaded via WiFi). Otherwise, things look to be fairly basic -- the screen is 800 x 480 (and not a touchscreen), and there's apparently no web browser or other types of apps on the device to be found. You will get 150 free public domain books with the device though, along with a free case, and your choice of a white or black / brushed metallic model (which actually look to be slightly different in design). It also looks like you'll be seeing a lot of it -- The Sharper Image says that it will have the "broadest retail footprint of any eReader," with it set to be available at more than 7,000 retail stores this October, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, JC Penney, Kohl's and Macy's. Full press release is after the break.
Donald Melanson08.26.2010
Sharper Image up for sale -- amazing mall store offers weightless, ionic iPod-compatible massage
Sure, The Sharper Image is bankrupt, but that's no reason to avoid this once in a lifetime opportunity to buy the company as it goes under. As you're undoubtedly already aware, The Sharper Image invented the idea of ions with the semi-functional Ionic Breeze air purifier, but did you know that it also led the movement to call anything with a stereo minijack "iPod-compatible?" That's history, folks. And now that the board of directors has put the company on the block with the share price down to 23 cents and the goal of selling by the end of next month, you could conceivably be America's next massage-chair kingpin for just $3.6M -- what's to lose? We'll even throw in the disgraced executive team, a $25 value! Operators are standing by!
Nilay Patel04.24.2008
Sharper Image selling self-branded cellphones
Many of us know The Sharper Image best as a purveyor of massaging lounge chairs (which makes their stores a must-stop location in the mall), a chronic pusher of ozone generators, and as a perennial favorite in SkyMall catalogs as we bide our time on the redeye. What we don't know The Sharper Image for, though, is its broad selection of no-name phones procured from Chinese manufacturers. We just happened to be flipping through TSI's latest catalog today and came across these four little gems, three with "The Sharper Image" proudly emblazoned across their faces. The pack includes a touchscreen equipped Chocolate knockoff (very 2006, but still quite strapping), a branded version of the AMOI N810 Windows Mobile 6 Professional device, a black slider that looks like death incarnated, and an ultra-generic silver clamshell that looks straight out of the early part of this decade. The good news is that they're all unlocked and range from a very reasonable $169.95 to $499.95; the bad news, however, is that you may have to keep your thumb over the TSI logo to keep the public mockery to a minimum.%Gallery-12421%Read - Sharper Image 101TSIRead - Sharper Image 008TSIRead - Sharper Image 007TSIRead - Sharper Image 005TSI
Chris Ziegler12.30.2007