both ACER and Dell have HD multitouch LCDs with built-in computer running Win 7. This will be the birth of multitouch in the home and wireless tablets are not far behind.
While finger painting on the iPhone may be fine for some, actually getting some work done using multitouch is going to require a Win 7 tablet and 2010 should see them coming from lots of manufacturers.
Now that Michael Arrington has unleashed the legal dogs on Fusion Garage, I think that it’s fair to assume that the CrunchPad is, at least for the foreseeable future, dead. But was it a viable idea in the first place? Was it a solution looking for a problem, or was it a product that would have revolutionized the way we interact with the web?
The CrunchPad was a touchscreen tablet that allowed users to browser the web. Yep, that’s all it did. A bit like a TV for the web. The original goal was that this device would retail for around $200, but over time the price crept up. The disputed JooJoo which Fusion Garage plan on selling is a whopping $499.
Now, I don’t know about you, but the idea of paying $200 for what is essentially a “web TV” is just plain crazy. I have plenty of devices that’ll access the web already, and so the last thing I want is a physical web browser that I have to carry about and keep charged up.
Personally, I don’t think the CrunchPad idea ever really had legs. I think that the concept was interesting but beyond that the market for it had to be tiny. TechCrunch did a good job of creating a lot of fervor around the idea by making it a “community” thing. Judging by the comments so far on TechCrunch, the vaporware gadget has a lot of fanboys.
Note: Just to show you the level of hype and fervor I’m talking about, check out Robert Scoble’s comment:
“I never would have … considered buying a Crunchpad if a major tech blog hadn’t been involved.”
Maybe I need to introduce my own personal line of hardware …
I think it’s a shame in some ways that the project imploded because it would have been interesting to see what kind of reception it would have received. That said, I have little doubt that the CrunchPad never really stood a chance.
So, how much would you pay for a CrunchPad/JooJoo or whatever? Do you think the idea had legs or was it just mostly fantasy?
