Crave

A prototype of the CrunchPad tablet computer

(Credit: TechCrunch)

In a turn of events that has sent the blog world into a frenzy, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington said on Monday that the CrunchPad tablet computer that he announced more than a year ago is officially dead.

According to Arrington, Fusion Garage, his company's manufacturing partner, said that it would take over full control of the CrunchPad project and cut TechCrunch out just days before its debut.

"Bizarrely, we were being notified that we were no longer involved with the project. Our project," Arrington wrote on TechCrunch. "[Fusion Garage CEO] Chandra [Rathakrishnan] said that based on pressure from his shareholders he had decided to move forward and sell the device directly through Fusion Garage, without our involvement."

Fusion Garage, according to Arrington, wanted to offer him the opportunity to "assume the role of visionary/evangelist/marketing head." The company would also acquire Arrington's rights to the CrunchPad name and brand. Arrington said that Fusion Garage and his company "jointly own the CrunchPad product intellectual property," but Arrington's firm solely owns the CrunchPad trademark.

For now, we only know Arrington's side of the story. (Disclosure: I wrote for TechCrunch in 2008.) He claims that he was ready and willing to launch CrunchPad with Fusion Garage. He said that he is "enraged, embarrassed, and just...sad." He plans to unleash a flurry of lawsuits on Fusion Garage.

But as you might expect, TechCrunch isn't providing the only word on the matter. Blogs across the Web are giving their two cents on where they stand on Arrington's announcement and the CrunchPad itself. Some support Arrington and still hope the CrunchPad will hit store shelves. Others aren't so sure.

Let's take a quick look around the Web to find out what others are saying.

Supporters

Gizmodo: "The whole situation is lousy, and FusionGarage certainly doesn't come out looking all that smart in it. I can't imagine anyone wanting to work with them again after this, but I guess we'll have to wait and hear what their side of the story is."

OSNews: "This is all very sad. The CrunchPad had a lot of promise, because it was driven by the very best incarnation of the Hacker Ethos. Talented and driven people, who surveyed the marketplace and failed to find a device that met their wants and needs, pulled together hardware and software talent to bring their dreams to reality, and designed a very appealing-looking device. It's a thin, light, open, relatively inexpensive device for "couch computing," and because the designers were motivated by a desire to have the device for themselves and make it available to as many others as possible, there were no hidden agendas or app stores or value-added nonsense or artificial limits on use, such as exist in the iPhone or Kindle or Sony eBook ecosystems."

Slashgear: "Away from the production wrangles, it's disappointing news both for anybody interested in portable electronics and for those to whom the CrunchPad project represented the potential for individuals and small companies to come up with an idea and make it reality."

Techland: "It seems as though Fusion Garage was being pressured by shareholders to ditch Arrington and co. They seem to forget that Arrington is a former lawyer and a pitbull at that."

Ubergizmo: "Of course, we haven't heard both sides of the story yet, but based on what we've heard (from TC), it all does seem a little sad. At least it has generated its fair share of marketing and publicity for TC, and that's worth something."

Detractors

JKOntheRun: "A basic on-screen keyboard for a 12-inch slate simply won't cut it for most people. It's too large to thumb-type on, which means you'll be holding the device in one hand while pecking with another. And the price is another issue. $300 buys you what I'd consider an equally portable, yet far more function device in either a Netbook or a smartphone. Unless there was a subsidy model in play, a web-only tablet isn't what folks expect for $300 or more."

Technologizer: "Arrington has always said that the CrunchPad sprung from his own desire to have a "dead simple" tablet he could use to get online from his couch. I get his desire. Well, mostly: I've never been entirely clear why the CrunchPad would be a better couch computer than a more typical, versatile cheap portable computer."

Wired: "Arrington's earlier promises regarding the CrunchPad never panned out, and his latest missive only points to his inability to walk the talk."

So while it seems that the Web is split over where they stand on Arrington and the CrunchPad, it's arguably John Gruber over at Daring Fireball who best summed up the CrunchPad news: "No word from Popular Mechanics yet on whether they get to keep their product of the year award."

Now it's your turn. Share your thoughts on the death of the CrunchPad below.

Score a 22-inch Acer LCD for $109.99--and get a three-year warranty!

(Credit: Staples)

Update (10:10 a.m. PT): Looks like everything but the Dell laptop is sold out. Sorry, folks! It's worth checking back on the other items, though, as sometimes stock gets replenished.

Ah, Cyber Monday. Now this is a day of deals I can get behind. No crowded parking lots, no unruly mobs, no pushing and shoving. (What? The old lady got in my way!)

Of course, as regular visitors to The Cheapskate know, nearly every day is Cyber Monday--the deals keep coming all year 'round.

But this Monday is special, so I've rounded up four particularly sweet bargains that are good today only. And, as always, the sellout risk is high, so get your mouse-clickin' finger(s) warmed up.

1) In the market for a monitor? Staples has the Acer X213HBbd 21.5-inch LCD for $109.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). Specs include VGA/DVI (HDCP) inputs, a 5-ms response time, and a three-year warranty (score!). This is the lowest price I've seen on a new 22-inch monitor.

2) Need a desktop replacement? Dell has an Inspiron 17 laptop for $549 shipped. It sports a whopping 17.3-inch display, a Core 2 Duo processor, and Windows 7 Home Premium. You can customize just about every feature to your liking, but the base configuration is mighty solid. That's the best deal on a 17-inch lappie I've seen all year--not the lowest price, mind you, but the best bang for the buck.

3) Still shopping for the perfect portable PC? Best Buy has the Samsung N140-14R Netbook for $279.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). That's higher than other models I've posted recently, but this is a decidedly high-end Netbook. Specs include Intel's Atom N280 processor, a 10.1-inch screen, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11n, and a six-cell battery. The OS: Windows 7 Starter.

4) Here's a great stocking stuffer: Newegg has the Zune Premium Headphones for $9.99 shipped. I've had a pair for years; they're my preferred earbuds for travel. They do a great job isolating outside noise (like airplane engines), and they're extremely comfortable. Obviously you don't need a Zune to use them; they'll work with any phone or MP3 player. Microsoft sells them for $39.99, so I can't recommend this deal highly enough.

Well? See anything you like? If not, don't worry--there's always tomorrow. In the meantime, hit the comments to share your tales of Cyber Monday scores.

P.S. Anybody catch me on Good Morning America today? No worries: you can catch me daily on CNET's Holiday Help Desk at 1 p.m. PST.

Hopefully by now you've figured out that all this Black Friday and Cyber Monday hype is a bit overblown, and that the busiest shopping days of the year are still to come in mid-to-late December.

That said, there are still some decent deals to be found if you missed those hard-to-snag Black Friday doorbusters. We've handpicked a few Cyber Monday laptops to check out if you're returning to work on Monday and looking to get as much holiday shopping as possible done online.

Acer Aspire AS5534-1121
$399, Best Buy
AMD Athlon dual-core L310; 4GB RAM; 320GB HDD; 15.6-inch display
This Cyber Monday special has a processor that's at the low end of the dual-core spectrum, but it's certainly better suited for mainstream tasks than a single-core Atom CPU, and priced the same as an average Netbook.

Sony Vaio NW238F
$698, Wal-Mart
Intel Pentium T4300 CPU; 4GB RAM; 400GB HDD; 15.5-inch display
Offered as an online-only special, this 15-inch laptop is less than $700, with Blu-ray. That's a decent deal, but a similar model, the Vaio NW270, is available for around the same price (depending on the store) with the same Blu-ray drive but a better Intel T6600 processor.

HP Mini-110 1030NR (refurbished)
$259, J&R
Intel Atom N270; 1GB RAM; 160GB HDD
New-York-based J&R is offering two Netbooks for a very decent $259--the best non-rebate, non-subsidized price we've seen on a standard Intel Atom Netbook. The HP Mini 110 is usually around $329, and it is one of our favorite Netbooks. On the down side, it includes Windows XP instead of Windows 7, and the included warranty is only good for 90 days.

Fujitsu M2010
$289, J&R
Intel Atom N280; 1GB RAM; 160GB HDD; 10.1-inch display
When we reviewed the Fujitsu M2010 Netbook, we were generally unimpressed with this overpriced $449 me-too system. For $289, however, it's a steal. Unlike the HP Mini 110, it's new, not a refurb, and it has a full one-year warranty. But like the HP, it also includes Windows XP.

I'm sure that all Dell laptops are wonderful machines that would make perfect gifts for even the most misanthropic, laptop-loathing humans.

However, my feelings were temporarily frozen, not unlike Michael Douglas' forehead, when I espied that Austin's finest was trying to garland this holiday period with a Netbook that seems to have special twittering powers.

I see the liquid remnants of your scoffing floating through the ether. However, please peruse the picture with which I have decorated this post.

(Credit: Dell.com)

It's from the Dell site and it seems like a normal Dell Netbook, doesn't it? The blurb beneath this picture declares, "Build it your way make it your own," which is quite a tempting offer when you consider the price seems to be a vastly generous $299.

Yet this sweet little device appears to be called the Twitter Mini. And the promise that Dell offers reads: "Perfect for Tweeting! Windows 7 Starter Included!"

Naturally, I am already excited. It has been something of my month's dream to find a device that is perfect for pumping out my 140 finest characters. But I'm stumped to the point of limping to work out why this particular Netbook is perfect for tweeting and others aren't.

I clicked on the image and found myself at this page, which offered me nothing other than some severe pain in my neck and brain.

While telling me this was a Netbook, and while mentioning that this series of Netbooks was "small, ultraportable, and designed to keep you connected," there wasn't even a mention of the word "Twitter."

Look, were there a Technological Olympics, I would not even make it as a hostess. But could someone please explain to me why the Twitter Mini is perfect for tweeting when the Mini 10, for example, is perfect for, well, according to the site, nothing at all?

Does the Twitter Mini automatically shorten tweetable URLs if I just stare at the screen? Does it have a direct and very hot line to Ashton Kutcher, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Fry, and that weird Russian girl who keeps following me, even though the Twitter folks keep deleting her naked entreaties?

Or did someone in the Dell marketing department get a little over-excited? Please feel free to send me a tweet.

Update 2 (10 a.m. PT): Looks like it's back up again. See? Told ya. Crazy Dell. Why do you torment us this way?

Update (8 a.m. PT): Well, I am NOT giving thanks for Dell this year, as this deal has already expired. My apologies, peeps. Watch for something even better later today--you have my word.

Still on the prowl for a Netbook? Sorry for all the grief with that Lenovo deal last week. (Anyone actually get one?) Hopefully this one makes up for it.

Dell is offering the Inspiron Mini 10v Netbook for $229 shipped. That's after removing the Bluetooth card from the configuration (switch to List View and scroll all the way to the bottom).

Of course, if you need Bluetooth, the $249 price tag is nothing to sneeze at. Indeed, it was nary a few months ago that finding a 10-inch Netbook for under $300 was virtually impossible.

I have little use for Bluetooth, but I'd probably think about dropping an extra $30 to get Windows 7 Starter (the Mini 10v comes standard with Windows XP Home). That'd get you out the door for $259--still a solid deal.

The system's other specs are fairly standard: an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 1.3-megapixel Webcam. It comes with a three-cell battery; an extra $35 buys you a six-cell--another upgrade worth considering.

CNET had lots of good things to say about the Mini 10v, which, incidentally, was $334 (with the six-cell battery) when we reviewed it just three months ago. Not sure why we dinged it for a lack of configuration options, though--Dell offers more than most Netbook vendors.

I'm hoping this doesn't sell out, like, five minutes after I post it. (We've been down that road, right?) If it does, check back later in the day and even in the days to come; Dell often gets replenished stock.

I'm off tomorrow, so let me take this opportunity to wish everyone who celebrates it a happy Thanksgiving. I'll be back on Friday (and Saturday), and in the meantime you can catch me embarrassing myself almost daily on CNET's Holiday Help Desk, which airs live at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET. (Here's yesterday's show if you just can't wait.)

As Black Friday approaches and everyone readies their wallet for the next big holiday deal, remember that it's getting increasingly difficult to spot good laptop innards from, well, less ideal ones. We've made this point before with the most frequent culprit of the Black Friday Doorbuster...the Celeron processor. Many 15-inch laptops that are advertised at about $300 or less are practically guaranteed to have this elderly single-core CPU at its core, but in the case of the Celeron, all you have to do is keep an eye out for that Celeron sticker on the display model.

More sneaky is the world of ultra-low-voltage (ULV) processors. Designed as slower-running, more power-efficient CPUs ideal for thin-and-light ultraportables, they can help extend battery life while still affording better-than-Netbook performance, especially in their dual-core form.

However, Intel's Core 2 ULVs get slapped with a "Core 2 Duo" sticker on their packaging, and can easily be confused for more powerful Core 2 Duo processors that can run at much faster speeds. While thin-and-light laptops won't often be confused for full-sized laptops, a few of the larger laptop bodies out there are being packaged with ULVs. A case in point is the Asus UL50AG, which we recently reviewed.

It's a trim, well-designed 15-inch laptop with an optical drive (DVD burner) and smooth lines, but the Intel processor inside doesn't run much better than Asus' slimmer, smaller ultraportables, including their UL30A. The savings in price might not be worth it if you want power over looks--for instance, the Toshiba A505-S6980 is cheaper, has a longer battery life and a faster processor, but weighs more and is much thicker. Still, that doesn't seem like a bad trade-off for a larger laptop that you probably will keep on your desk most of the time.

How do you know what you're getting? Check the specs on the box (a 1.3Ghz-speed processor is most likely a ULV), and, of course, read reviews whenever possible. Our recommendation is that you aim for a ULV processor at 13 inches and under (especially if you want a long battery life over performance), and a regular, non-ULV Core 2 Duo for anything larger.

Read our reviews of the Asus UL50AG and Toshiba A505-S6980.

It's episode 59 of the Digital City, and if our cast looks a little different today, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Joey, Julie, and Scott all called in sick, so we recruited some of our CNET colleagues to step in and offer their holiday shopping advice.

David Katzmaier, John Falcone, and Matt Fitzgerald weigh in on Black Friday tips for big-screen TVs, home theater equipment, and digital cameras, and we go over some of the best and worst laptop deals around.

Also discussed was the high-concept Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard video game, the surprise popularity of Assassin's Creed 2, and Dan showed off his new Forza-3-branded Pumas.

Added bonus: we've got a handful of beta invites for MAG, the massive 256-person PS3 shooter to give away. Ping me on Twitter , or e-mail us at digitalcity@cnet.com, and we'll hook the first five people up.

Related links:
>>Are these Apple's Black Friday laptop deals?
>>Rating Black Friday laptop doorbuster deals
>>Review: the ColcaSac hemp MacBook sleeve
>>Hands on with 15th-century Italy in Assassin's Creed II

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

There's certainly no shortage of coverage about Black Friday tech sales, and savvy shoppers have no doubt already scoped out their favorite deals from the leaked ad scans and early deals posted on sites such as BFads.net.

We've scanned some of the ads and picked several potentially promising Black Friday deals, including limited-time special offers, in order to give you some context on what constitutes a good doorbuster deal, and what's just a bust.

Note that many of the prices cited below are only available during the early hours of Friday morning.

Sony NW235, $399, Best Buy
Intel Pentium Dual Core; 4GB RAM; 320GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
Unlike some of the cheapest Celeron laptops out there, we find models such as this, with an Intel dual-core CPU, to fit the basic definition of usability. Best Buy is offering this as a Friday doorbuster, with a minimum of 10 per store (ticket required). We've typically seen similar systems for around $500.

HP G60-507DX, $197, Best Buy
Intel Celeron; 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 15-inch screen
A full-size laptop for under $200 may seem tempting, but we suggest you avoid any Celeron-powered systems. The nearly Netbook-level performance will definitely disappoint in a15-inch laptop. This is also a limited-quantity doorbuster, and would normally sell for around $350-$400.

eMachines eME627, $198, Walmart
AMD Athlon 64; 2GB RAM; 160GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
As Acer/Gateway's nearly forgotten entry-level brand, you don't hear a lot about eMachines these days. This deal is available 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Black Friday, but we're still adamant that your expectations must be kept pretty low.

HP G71-329wm, $398, Walmart
Intel Celeron; 4GB RAM; 320GB hard drive; 17-inch screen
Update: Walmart is now listing this system as having an Intel Celeron processor, making it less of a good deal than we originally thought. It's still inexpensive for a 17-inch laptop, but not something we'd go out of our way for.

HP Pavilion (model unknown); $379, OfficeMax
AMD Sempron; 3GB RAM; 160GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
Remember how we said you should avoid a Celeron-powered midsize laptop? Same goes for AMD's Sempron processor. We've seen similar systems for around $399, so it's not even much of a bargain.

Delstar DS700, $119, K-Mart
CPU unknown; 128MB RAM; 2GB SSD; 7-inch screen
It's like the first prototype Netbook ever made crawled out of the primordial swamps and stuck a "for sale" sticker on itself. Hopefully we don't have to tell you to avoid this Windows CE system, with components more typical for a mobile phone, even if it is being offered for $120 (down from the usual $150) as a Black Friday doorbuster.

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5984, $399, Best Buy
Intel Core 2 Duo T6500; 3GB RAM; 250GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
A real Intel Core 2 Duo CPU for the price of an HP Mini 311 Netbook. Considering it's only $50 more than the non-Black-Friday price of a typical Celeron-powered Toshiba, this is a decent mainstream deal.

This is one of five designer colors you can choose for this dirt-cheap Netbook.

(Credit: Lenovo)

Update No. 5 (7:40 a.m. PST, Sunday): Now Target has that same 10-inch Aspire One for $199! It's in-store only, though, so call before you drive. Thanks to reader Travisp11 for the heads-up!

Update No. 4 (7:45 a.m. PST, Saturday): Amazon has a deal that's nearly as good: the Acer Aspire One for $229 shipped. (Note: Add any of the available colors to your cart to see that price.) I've reviewed this netbook; it's superb.

Update No. 3 (11 a.m. PST): Sorry, folks, looks like the deal is definitely dead this time.

Update No. 2: Working again! Make sure you follow step 5 and add Bluetooth, otherwise you won't get the color choices.

Update: Sigh. I knew this wouldn't last. Looks like Lenovo has already taken it down (or at least removed the custom-color options necessary to drop the price). My apologies. Deals are so ephemeral right now.

Best Netbook deal of the year, right here, right now. I have no idea how long it will last, so let's get to it.

Lenovo has a 10-inch IdeaPad S10-2 Netbook for $208.70 shipped. The specs are pretty standard, including a 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, and Windows XP Home. And it's new, not a refurb!

There's a little hoop-jumping here, so stay with me:

1. Head to the Lenovo Family and Friends page.

2. Enter passcode familyandfriends and click Sign In.

3. Wait for the red Holiday Gift Ideas banner to appear, click it, and then click it again on the subsequent page.

4. Click the Netbooks tab, then click Customize & Buy on the IdeaPad S10-2 at the far left.

5. Scroll down and add Bluetooth. Then choose one of the five designer color options (Flower Sea is pictured here). Alas, there's no preview, but they're all pretty gorgeous.

6. Click Continue a couple times and then add the S10 to your cart. Finally, apply coupon code USP12NETBOOK for a final price of $208.70.

Awesome. Just plain awesome. Gotta give shout-out credit to Dealnews for this deal, which should tickle those who've been waiting for a Netbook.

I don't even need a Netbook, and I'm this close to grabbing one anyway. How about you?