DISQUS

adorno · 4 months ago

I'll probably buy one when it comes out, but for the rest of it? pffffft

"his blog to near mainstream acceptance, competing against publications with history marked in centuries". really? who?

He was very fortunate, right time at the right place, competing against unemployed programmers at home in their bathrobes and understood click-throughs. His writing sucks, and he doesn't report anything that doesn't come out of a PR agent's mouth first, at least anything truthful, ie the whole made-up last.fm flap and phony fights with other bloggers to drive eyeballs to his site.

Please, he is about as relevant to technology as Sarah Palin.

rodney rumford · 4 months ago

i could see how this could very well be a coll "3rd device" for me as well. nice post.

Luis Pereira · 4 months ago

The CrunchPad "initiative" will be good for Mike and TechCrunch whether it succeeds or fails. I personally don't feel the CrunchPad will succeed as a consumer product, but in terms of publicity for Mike and TechCrunch it will be very successful.

A.T. · 4 months ago

wrong bet

facebook-582759972 · 4 months ago

I have to agree... there are several scenarios I can imagine taking the crunchpad in stead of my macbook or iphone

- meetings to read the documentation and take notes
- breakfast since I have an evening paper
- watching tv
- in bed
- let the kids play flashgames on it

when I am not using it it can be a picture frame

Gadgeteer · 4 months ago

This should be interesting. As someone who has his lips firmly and frequently planted on Apple's derriere, will we see a departure from the Arrington/Techcrunch love affair with All Things Jobs when Apple releases its own tablet device?

Michael Fidler · 4 months ago

To his credit, the project has stuck pretty close to the original concept it started with. It's crept up a few dollars, but that was expected. I think there's a huge market for a product like this. It's not just because of the price either. For me it has more to do with comfort and the way I access the web. It’s not very comfortable to lie in bed or sit back on a coach with my laptop, whenever I want to read a few posts. With a tablet this isn’t a problem, and its large screen makes it much more comfortable than the confined space of the largest screened Smartphone’s. Actually, in terms of comfort, it's really no different than the kindle, except this device can access everything on the web. It's basically a thin client (cloud computer), except it has a full OS. Whether or not it delivers remains to be seen, but for $300, I won't think twice about buying one if the reviews are positive.

I’m not sure if TechCrunch has the marketing experience or clout needed to communicate to consumers why they need this but we will see. I’m sure a lot of people never thought they would get this far either. I would prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt on this. Further out, the future looks bright for them. There's a slew of new tech coming out of the netbook explosion, like the new Nvidia Tegra chip. It sips on power while it’s accelerating Flash in hardware no less; allowing for super smooth 1080P video. The chip also accelerates Firefox and has other long promised features (think Microsoft), like “Instant ON”. This chip would be so perfect for something like this. If they can do well enough to justify making a CrunchPad 2, there's going to be some very capable solutions available to them the next time around. BTW, did it look like the one featured in the picture, or was it like the one seen in their YouTube Video’s? Ugly Colored Plastic, with rounded edges. I hope it looks good. Aesthetics are important to some people, me included.

alpinefolk · 4 months ago

Discussion comes up periodically on whether the iphone (or android device) is the new laptop. This device is closer I think. With a powerful desktop in the office, the crunch pad could be all that most people need when on the run. However it still has a number of issues that may limit it becoming a consumer product.
1) no choice of Browser? (I assume) It had better be good (no add-ons either?)
2) no apps should increase speed, but what of all the developers creating apps for hte iphone and android. Will they enable them to be web-based just for the crunchpad?
3) Again I am assuming, without internet connection, it is a long thin brick. May not be an issue for some, but for the average consumer?

However, it is a great idea and I hope it is successful, or at least gives Apple and others a hurry up.

Dan · 4 months ago

I know I would buy one - actually thinking this might be a solution for the school, now if I can just get on the beta program to test it out. If it works, I'll get 600 for my students.

Kelli Piperata · 4 months ago

theese are great. :D