Not missing out on the fun, Sharp is preparing to unveil its own brand new e-reader in Japan this fall with US retail availability to trail by the end of the year. But what can we expect from the product when its company President claims that their device will aim “to rival the iPad”. Well that’s President Mikio Katayama’s very own words.

Colour screen with capacitive touchscreen capability is somewhat a ‘must’ here, but what’s making this ‘Sharp-Pad’ unique of its own is the high potential for 3D trailing behind it. Katayama claims to have witnessed unlimited enthusiasm for 3D – particularly when it comes to games – and position it as a likely imminent direction for this new e-book reader. Multifunctional devices are what people want, he says, and since Sharp already has a 3D smartphone in the pipeline and a glasses-free 3D tablet display in the lab, we can’t see many technical hurdles to the realization of his vision. Let’s just hope his depth perception is accurate when it comes to measuring the interest in three-dee. Oh-Am-Gee!

[Chunichi via Engadget]