CrunchPad, take two: Meet JooJoo
It's baa-aack. The Web tablet that lived and died as the CrunchPad is reborn as the 'JooJoo.' Interesting? Yes -- but would you pay $499 for one?
Follow @ifw_cringelyJust when you thought the CrunchPad was dead (or that Michael Arrington might actually shut up for five minutes) along comes news of its revival, only this time it's got a new name and a new daddy.
In an effort to "tell their side of the story," erstwhile CrunchPad manufacturers Fusion Magic Garage held a press event yesterday to announce that, yes, the "dead simple Web tablet" is still alive, only without Arrington's participation or his original name.
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The new name? JooJoo.
Because, apparently, FooFoo was taken.
JooJoo is an African term for "magical" (I've always seen it spelled "juju," but never mind) and that's what Fusion Magic Garage is desperately hoping to conjure up with the tablet, which conforms to most of the specs Arrington's been braying about for months with one key exception: Instead of costing less than $200, the JooJoo will clock in at $499.
So, to recap: The company is selling a 2.4-pound touchscreen-based Web browsing device running a custom OS that only works on Wi-Fi for the cost of a netbook running Windows and a wireless broadband card. And it's named JooJoo.
Wired's Priya Ganapati did a hands-on with the JooJoo, and found it "elegant" and "simple," though also a bit slow and overpriced. Fusion Magic Garage is planning to take orders later this week (assuming it gets any) and deliver the first JooJoos to customers in 8 to 10 weeks.
