Slashdot Mirror
CrunchPad Being Re-branded As JooJoo
adeelarshad82 writes to tell us that Fusion Garage seems to be ignoring the drama surrounding the "CrunchPad" and is planning to launch their "JooJoo" tablet this Friday at midnight. Unfortunately, the device will be a long way from the imagined $200 price point, weighing in at a hefty $499. "The JooJoo comes in black and has a capacitive touch screen, enough graphic power to deliver full high-definition video, offline capabilities, and a 4GB solid-state drive, though 'most of the storage is done in the cloud,' Rathakrishnan said. He promised 5 hours of battery life. In a demo during the webcast, the device powered on in about 10 seconds, and showed icons for web-based services like Twitter, Hulu, CNN, and Gmail, though the JooJoo will not come pre-loaded with any apps, Rathakrishnan said. Scroll through them with your finger as you would on the iPhone. In terms of the ownership drama, Rathakrishnan said that TechCrunch editor Arrington has created an 'incomplete and distorted story.'"
The HitlerHitler
...though 'most of the storage is done in the cloud...
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
At $200 I would be all over this (even though it sounds like it was bred from a bit of dirty business dealing). For $499, I would rather buy a laptop and have the keyboard.
I don't see the pure tablet play working, not from JooJoo, not even from apple - it's always going to be a niche, and a small one.
The one way I can perhaps see it working is if you either build in a collapsible keyboard, or let them work with bluetooth keyboards and have some way to attach it making a kind of temporary laptop. There are just too many uses of a computer where the ability to type for long periods is needed, to get away without a real keyboard in a larger form factor. There are already netbooks with touch screens and that just seems way more practical.
JooJoo has issues outside the name though, the price point does not seem great for what it does.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It was better than the other name they threw around in brainstorming sessions--the NigNig.
The entire marketing drama behind all this was all a ploy. Call me crazy, but think about it: Market a new device that does some amazing stuff at a ridiculously low price. So low that you could never make a profit. Wait til all the news sites pick it up. Then stage a coup. During that coup have a takeover, and re-release the device at a sensible price under a different name. Free marketing.
Brb gotta go make a tin foil hat now.
The CrunchPad model only made sense at the low price: something inexpensive and universal.
But the low price never made sense. Apple doesn't make much money on the iPod touch, and they have all the huge economies of scale, and its still costs $200 for the 8 GB model. Add in a MUCH larger screen and bigger battery and of course the price will balloon.
Test your net with Netalyzr
People who use the phrase "price point" instead of "price" need to be shot in the head.
Shoot this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_point
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
jar jar was taken
calling all destroyers
Big assumption. We basically have two no-names calling each other doodie-heads. Who knows who is right or wrong? If contracts were signed, then let them battle it out in court. Blog posts and PR releases have no legal weight.
Yahoo! Answers agrees with you. Maybe it's not so bad after all. Announcing the Penis Pad (formerly Crunch Pad)! It's touch sensitive!
Ooh, just found this in the Google Cache of Fusiongarage's blog (blog is now removed).
From January 19th, 2009
There is an air of excitement permeating through Fusion Garage at the moment. Michael Arrington of Techcrunch just wrote an update on the Techcrunch Tablet Prototype B.
It’s our software that is running on the tablet as demonstrated in the videos embedded in the article. We continue to work with Louis Monier on the feature set and the user experience. We are thrilled with this progress and would like to take the opportunity to thank Michael and Louis for giving us the opportunity to work with them on the Techcrunch Tablet.
Its early days yet but we are big believers of the Browser As An Operating System and the Techcrunch Tablet Initiative.
A nice way to begin 2009 here at FusionGarage !
And then February 4th, 2009
The collaboration with the Crunchpad project happened as a result of meetings we had with Mike Arrington and co, subsequent to TC50. We worked closely with Louis Monier in getting the software in shape for the hardware prototype B. We continue to work with them in getting the software in shape to make crunchpad a easy to use device. This is where we stand as of prototype-B: (Details over at TechCrunch’s update )
Then from the PCMag piece today,
Simply put, however, Arrington was unable to deliver, Rathakrishnan said. As a result, Fusion Garage completed the development of the OS, hired the necessary expertise to complete the hardware side of the equation, solved remaining technology issues, and worked on arrangements with OEMs.
Fusion Garage secured funding from its shareholders, which now totals $3 million, he said.
Rathakrishnan acknowledged that "many conversations" did take place with Arrington and that Arrington set up CrunchPad Inc., which would have been a vehicle for distribution of the device, but "ultimately nothing came out" of that. No contracts of any kind were ever signed, he said.
"TechCrunch didn't contribute a single line of code," Rathakrishnan said. "It was Fusion Garage that brought the device from the dead."
That doesn't sound very consistent with the blog posts.