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The morality tale surrounding the demise of the CrunchPad has gotten some clarity while it's become even more murky. The CrunchPad, as such, isn’t quite dead. Rather, it’s been reincarnated as the “JooJoo”, and Fusion Garage CEO Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan says it will be ready to launch Friday, December 11.
The quick-and-dirty of the tale is this: Michael Arrington of TechCrunch announced the death of the CrunchPad on November 30. He related the cause of death to be Rathakrishnan and unnamed investors who decided they would be better off without Arrington’s participation. In Arrington’s view he’s part owner of the intellectual property behind the CrunchPad, so without some agreement on terms Fusion Garage wouldn’t have a product to sell.
Rathakrishnan struck back today. Not only is Fusion Garage prepared to produce and sell the 12.1-inch web tablet, it is planning to do so this week. Rathakrishnan also clarified the cause of the TechCrunch-Fusion Garage break-up to be Arrington, who Rathakrishnan says “was completely unable to deliver.”
The background probably isn’t as important as the product itself. Details are limited, but the JooJoo will have a 12.1-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, ebook capability, the ability to deliver full HD video, and, according to Rathakrishnan, “the fastest bootup sequence out there.” It will also cost $499, more than double what Arrington had projected.
Whether the JooJoo will see the light of day is another matter. Come Friday we’ll have a better idea on where this little saga goes next.
Image Credit: Fusion Garage
Links:
[1] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/bartsalisbury
[2] http://venturebeat.com/2009/12/07/crunchpad-manufacturer-changes-product-to-joojoo-promises-launch-this-week/
[3] https://thejoojoo.com/
[4] http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/30/crunchpad-end/
[5] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/crunchpad_tablet_project_implodes
[6] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/accelerometer_hack_turns_dell_mini_9_cheap_windows_tablet
[7] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/latest_apple_tablet_rumors_has_foxconn_building_device_early_2010_release
[8] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/chandrasekar_rathakrishnan
[9] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/crunchpad
[10] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/fusion_garage
[11] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/hardware
[12] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/joojoo
[13] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/michael_arrington
[14] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/techcrunch
[15] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/web_tablet
[16] http://www.maximumpc.com/articles/news
[17] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/login?&commentfragment=comments_top_anchor