Crave

Chandra Rathakrishnan and his baby, the JooJoo.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)

CNET snagged the first journalists' demo of the new JooJoo (formerly CrunchPad) Web slate on Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan's San Francisco media tour. Quick impressions: yeah, this is a really cool device. Everyone reading a tech site like CNET will want one. But will they pay the $499 going price for it? We don't think so.

The JooJoo Web slate is based around a 12.1-inch diagonal 720p capacitive touch screen. The specs include: 1366x768-pixel resolution, a built-in camera, mic, and speakers, one USB port, and a card slot. There's 4GB of cache memory. What's the processor? Rathakrishnan wouldn't say. He also won't say who makes the touch screen.

The hardware is slim and pleasing to hold. The screen is gorgeous, and huge, and the plastic back is gently curved. The unit is very slim, thinner than a MacBook Air. There are no buttons on the device, save the single power switch.

The JooJoo runs a proprietary Linux-based operating system whose only purpose is to run the device's browser, based on Webkit but again a custom job by the developer. The browser supports Flash and other standard HTML extensions, but it won't run non-Web apps. No Skype for you.

JooJoo first look (photos)

Also missing: a user-accessible file system and printer drivers. This is one focused device. It browses the Web. That's it.

But it looks like it will do that job quite well. While the demo we saw was running on unfinished code, we found the device a very attractive integrated experience. The hardware is sleek and simple, and a pleasure to hold, and the user interface on the browser is simple and clear, although we expect it will get a bit more cluttered as necessary functions are added in before ship.

Upon booting the device, which really does take only nine seconds, you get a big display of tiles: Your Web bookmarks. The WiFi-only device loads up pages reasonably quickly and you can scroll through pages by dragging your finger on the screen. A pinch out (or "zoom") gesture takes you back the home screen. From the home screen, pinching in shows you your open Web sites. Missing from the current pre-production code is a navigate back gesture (it will be a two-finger swipe), a bookmark gesture (which will be like turning down a page corner), and other functions, like closing a browser window and page zoom.

From the home screen you can use the on-screen keyboard to enter a Web address or a search term. Once you type something in, you can use it as a Web address or a Google text or video search term.

The JooJoo works best when held in your hands like a book, I think, although the on-screen keyboard ends up positioned poorly. You can easily hold the device with one hand, but then you can only tap out words with one finger. There will be an optional easel stand, and the JooJoo will support USB and Bluetooth keyboards.

The JooJoo is designed in part as a video viewing device, but unfortunately in the demo we got, the Wi-Fi network we were on wasn't robust enough to support the video Rathakrishnan wanted to display. The few seconds of video we saw before the system stopped to buffer looked great, but if users buy this device expecting to be able to watch HD video in their hotel rooms all the time, we recommend that they either reset their expectations or avoid hotels like San Francisco's St. Regis, which apparently doesn't give its guests sufficient bandwidth.

Rathakrishnan says he's done no market research to verify that there's consumer support for this product, although he does note that people in TechCrunch audience have been supportive of the product. Of course, that was back when Michael Arrington was throwing around the concept at a $200 or $300 price point. At $500 it's a very different market, and the cabal of TechCrunch fans is not representative of consumer demand.

Rathakrishnan did say he's talking to several potential partners about the device--media companies, for the most part. A subsidized model is a possibility, he said.

The JooJoo with its pint-size inspiration, the iPhone.

(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)

The product will be hitting reviewers' hands this month, we're told, and will be shipping in eight to ten weeks.

Is the JooJoo a great device? Yes, it is. But at the $499 price point, we don't think it will be a success. It does less than a Netbook--it won't run productivity apps that aren't browser-based--and it's helpless when away from a Wi-Fi connection. It's a great computer for browsing the Web from the couch, but at its current price it's a luxury item, an indulgence. It's hard to justify its purchase in the way buyers can rationalize an iPhone or a Kindle. It's not a product we'd recommend to anyone who needs their computers for productivity. It's not a device for students, or workers, nor is it a good family room computer (the keyboard isn't good enough). You can get a capable laptop for $500 that does much more than the JooJoo.

If you have money to burn, though, go for it. It's pleasing to use and will be a great toy for your living room. At least until Apple figures out how to tackle this category.

Like so many other tech gadgets out there, in other words, many people will really want a JooJoo. But I doubt they will pay for it.

Previously: CrunchPad reborn as JooJoo.

On this week's Digital City, we tackle one of the most contentious issues of our time -- Mac vs. PC -- as Dan offers an enlightened path to peace for both camps. We also hear about some free municipal Wi-Fi for the new Times Square pedestrian mall; a sweet TV/PS3 combo deal at Best Buy; and discuss the fate of the vaporware-like CrunchPad.

Later, Scott laments the lack of Microsoft synergy in the Zune gaming business model; we check out some new game releases, including Zelda: Spirit Tracks and The Saboteur; and debate the ethics of adding adults-only DLC to games.

Quick note: tune in next week for a chance to win a Zune HD!

Related links:
>>A modest proposal: Detente between Mac and PC laptop fans
>>Can Zune gaming compete?
>>Times Square gets free WiFi

>>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! And Scott!

Fusion Garage's Chandra Rathakrishnan shows off the JooJoo in a videoconference.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

Monday morning, former TechCrunch partner Fusion Garage revealed details of its plans to release its Linux-based Web browsing tablet.

Known as the CrunchPad until TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington announced on his blog that Fusion Garage had removed his company from involvement the product, it was expected to be a touch-sensitive slate computer designed for browsing the Web. It was said to have no local storage aside from what was necessary to load and run the operating system. Arrington said he was hoping to bring the product to market for under $300, but did not expect it to be a big seller.

More recently, Arrington said litigation over the breakup was imminent.

Fusion Garage has been quiet about the public but one-sided airing of the two companies' disagreements until now.

In a Web videocast Monday, Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan laid out his position on the drama, and revealed plans for the release of the product.

Tasty hardware specs

Rathakrishnan said the product, now named JooJoo, will soon be available for preorder for $499, well above the sub-$300 price point that Arrington hoped to deliver the product at. Shipping will start in 8 to 10 weeks.

Regarding the high price, the Fusion Garage CEO said that "nothing worthwhile can be delivered," at the hoped-for $300 price, and pointed to other products, like the Kindle DX and the iPhone, as examples of products with lesser screens that cost more.

The JooJoo will have a 12.1-inch capacitive touch screen, limited local storage for caching data, Wi-Fi but no cellular connectivity, and will boot directly to the browser in nine seconds, Rathakrishnan said. It is said to have five hours of battery life and weigh under 2.5 pounds. It has no physical buttons other than the power switch, and looks quite sleek in black, its only color option. The operating system/browser hybrid, written by Fusion Garage, will be capable of displaying full HD video on the device.

Regarding the potentially competitive Chrome OS, Rathakrishnan said that while it's a "similar vision," the Netbook form factor (which Chrome OS is written for) is not ideal for the use cases he envisions. Furthermore, Chrome OS is a year from release; JooJoo is entering production now.

Ugly legal posturing

Rathakrishnan opened his press conference by saying that "The death of the product has been greatly exaggerated." He then spent several minutes refuting Arrington's claims of ownership over the intellectual property inside the JooJoo device.

"I'm not the person I've been portrayed as in the blogosphere," Rathakrishnan said in defense of himself, before attacking Arrington. "Anybody can write blog posts," he said. "There are dreamers and there are doers."

Rathakrishnan said that he and Arrington had agreed on a vision of the product early on, and that Arrington had said he would line up funding and other help to bring the product to market. The ultimate goal was for a TechCrunch subsidiary company, CrunchPad, to buy Fusion Garage. But the TechCrunch money never materialized, and Fusion Garage raised money on its own, built the product independently, and lined up manufacturing for the product.

It's "ludicrous," Rathakrishnan said, to think that TechCrunch owns any intellectual property in the JooJoo. Rathakrishnan said that there were never any legal agreements signed to that effect.

"We took all the risk and did all the work. Michael Arrington sat back," Rathakrishnan said.

Opinions differ on Rathakrishnan's position, of course. Arrington has laid out a compelling case of betrayal in his blog posts on the topic, and TechCrunch readers have, to date, supported Arrington's position that he is the injured party.

Ultimately, it's highly unlikely that the rancor between TechCrunch and Fusion Garage will make much difference in the success or failure of the product. Neither TechCrunch nor JooJoo is a popular consumer brand, and the market for this category of product is untested. What is more likely to trouble the product's success is that it's priced out of reach of most consumers, and functionally doesn't offer much more than a $300 Netbook, although arguably it performs many of the same functions with a lot more style.

We're getting a hands-on look at the JooJoo later Monday and will report on that in a separate post.

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.

Episode 43 of the Digital City, where special guest Natali Del Conte joins us to talk about the ethics of news organizations uploading street fighting videos; the CrunchPad vs. Apple's hypothetical tablet, and the latest Netbook trends.

Plus, Scott and I share our impressions of Sony's holiday PlayStation lineup, which we checked out in person earlier this week, including Uncharted 2 and the cool/creepy EyePet virtual critter.

Related links:
>>CrunchPad tablet allegedly revealed: Apple tablet killer or overhyped Netbook?
>>One of our favorite Netbooks gets a sequel: meet the HP Mini 5101
>>Update: Android Netbooks from Acer coming this year after all

>>Watch the Digital City live every Friday 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!

The conceptual rendition of the near-final CrunchPad design.

(Credit: TechCrunch)

TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, who last year boldly proclaimed TechCrunch would break every embargo it agreed to, apparently has broken his own embargo and leaked some news about his little consumer electronics side project, the CrunchPad.

OK, maybe he didn't really break his own embargo, but we wouldn't put it past him. The fact is Arrington says he's "just about nailed down the final design for the device" and that he'll have "first working prototypes" in a few weeks.

Arrington has been posting progress reports on the creation of the CrunchPad, which was originally envisioned as a "dead simple" Web tablet that would cost $200. Arrington is working with Fusion Garage to create the sexy-looking CrunchPad, which will be next talked about publicly "at a special press and user event in July in Silicon Valley." But the good news is you can talk about it privately all you want.

An earlier prototype was making the rounds in April, but this new version will be slimmer (less than an inch) and have an aluminum case, "which is more expensive than plastic but is sturdier and lets us shave a little more off the overall thickness of the device." As it stands, the CrunchPad will run on an Intel Atom chip and is Linux-based.

It's unclear how the new concept will price out. In April, Arrington said the device could be built for around $250 (with packaging) and sold for $300. But we suspect the ultimate, final price tag may be higher. In fact, by the time Arrington gets it finished, there will be plenty of Netbooks with slightly smaller screens that do more or less what the CrunchPad does (except boot up to a browser as quickly), are less fragile, and have a physical keyboard.

Of course, the other possibility is that Apple will come out with its own touch-screen tablet-style Netbook that costs a lot more but everybody wants to buy.

Comments?

(Source: TechCrunch)