The Linux-based tablet PC that was supposed to be named CrunchPad will be available to consumers real soon. The JooJoo is the product of the CrunchPad project started by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, Louis Monier, and Singapore-based design studio Fusion Garage.
Now, let's talk about JooJoo's hardware specifications. The device is running on a 1.6GHz Atom processor with 4GB cache memory. It is loaded with 1GB of RAM so expect it to handle multi-tasking well. The JooJoo has a 12.1-inch diagonal 720p capacitive touch screen capable of 1366x768-pixel resolution. It also has built-in speakers, headphone jack, webcam, mic, WiFi, one USB slot, and a card slot. There's no TV out or HDMI out as of the moment.
So why did they call it JooJoo instead of the CrunchPad? Actually, recent disagreements between Arrington and the Fusion Garage team ended the CrunchPad project. Chandra Rathakrishnan, Fusion Garage CEO, later announced that the CrunchPad would be released by the company as the JooJoo to avoid messy lawsuits.
Now, let's talk about JooJoo's hardware specifications. The device is running on a 1.6GHz Atom processor with 4GB cache memory. It is loaded with 1GB of RAM so expect it to handle multi-tasking well. The JooJoo has a 12.1-inch diagonal 720p capacitive touch screen capable of 1366x768-pixel resolution. It also has built-in speakers, headphone jack, webcam, mic, WiFi, one USB slot, and a card slot. There's no TV out or HDMI out as of the moment.
The JooJoo is basically just a web-browsing machine. It runs on a custom-made Linux operating system with a sole purpose of running a browser that's based on Webkit. The home screen is your window to different web sites/applications. The "Internet is the application" so you can't save files like images and documents to your physical storage device.
If you are planning to buy the JooJoo, prepare to shell out $499. I think the price is too steep for a device that does a lot less stuff than a netbook. But, that's just my opinion. What do you think?
If it's linux-only, then it should be arm-based.... Like the touchbook.
I also think Chandra is grabbing this project out from under Arrington before it's fully baked and it shows. They are screwing up by charging too much for a device that does less than a netbook.
A great idea totally screwed by a short sighted greed driven douche
A touch screen is nice, but no local storage ?
Next you will tell me OS is closed, unhackable.
I will wait for an established vendor to release a similar product, for less, with features I want.
If you want/need a web browsing device like this, then the price is very reasonable from technical point of view. I mean, just consider the price of alternative touch screen solutions of similar weight. If you don't really need it, well... For most people, the price is too steep for just a toy.
I don't think it'll be a success, but the critisism here is just stupid.
About being based in Atom vs ARM: that thing probably uses a few binary blob drivers not available for ARM, so using Atom with existing drivers is a no brainer.
Just to note others that this story is not over yet and no devices have been delivered so far to anybody...
Apple's tablet will be here soon, and others will follow, and they'll meet the expectations of the market with enough money to pay for it. The rest of us can wait, and with the rate of technological development that exists now, I can wait. No problem!