By now, we all know the story behind the CrunchPad. The much-talked about and much-anticipated device was supposed to launch for Black Friday with the two partners working on the project: Fusion Garage and Michael Arrington & Co.
That plan never materialized. Arrington says it was because of a fit of greed and betrayal on Fusion Garage’s part. Fusion Garage came back with an assertion that not only downplayed TechCrunch’s role in the tablet’s production but also said that Arrington constantly didn’t provide results when they needed him to. It’s no secret that I side with Mike on this one and think what the CEO of Fusion Garage is saying is complete BS. In time, hopefully we will know what really happened.
Meanwhile though, as much as I am appalled by this news and genuinely feel for Mike, I really don’t think this situation matters. He has already won.
If you look at the blogosphere, there’s wide support for Mike. No one believes Chandra’s story nor does it sound very plausible. The device was called the CrunchPad and started by a post written by Mike – don’t tell me that TechCrunch wasn’t involved.
But that’s not the victory I am talking about. What I am talking about is that while everyone’s emotionally siding with Mike, there’s no room for Chandra to even consider a chance at victory. Today he debuted the device he’s been working hard on and allegedly ripped from Mike.
The 2.4 pound JooJoo, as it’s now called, is a tablet with a 12.1″ touchscreen, five hours of battery life, 4 GB flash storage, and Wifi. It’s nice – no one is going to deny that. But Fusion Garage is about to sell it for $499. That’s the real problem.
Robert Scoble said it best, via a tweet today:
If I were @arrington I’d be breathing a big sigh of relief. A $500 tablet is NOT what he envisioned.
Apple is gonna eat this guy’s lunch.
This is a meaningless device that will now fade into complete obscurity. It’s a product from a no-name vendor, surrounded by a zoo of legal troubles. Niche product, at best. If even that…
I am writing this post on a $200 netbook that more than serves it’s purpose. Would I pay $300 more for this tablet? Not a chance.
The price mark belongs to a tablet that’s made by the likes of Apple. Michael Arrington kick started this project by pleading for a “dead simple web tablet for $200″. This is not it…
I would waste no time on this project any more. Forget Fusion Garage. There’s a huge number of people, including me, that will be waiting anxiously for a $200 device.
That was your idea, Mike. I hope you just start over now and make that dream a reality. Fusion Garage, in this debacle, is nothing more than an insignificant meaningless distraction.
[...] wrote a post shortly after this occurred on why Michael is the real winner in this [...]