JooJoo Tablet Not Shaken By Legal Threats, Should Ship This Month
The Apple iPad may have been the first major tablet announced with a
near-term ship date in 2010, but good luck convincing the guys and
girls that created the JooJoo that Steve Jobs had the idea first. Just
a few months ago, Fusion Garage came forward with a tablet PC that was
groundbreaking in terms of design and promised power. It was previously
considered the CrunchPad, but when push came to shove, Fusion Garage
was the only interested party still involved in the whole thing and
willing to push forward with production.
Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan is the most visible figure now involved in the process, and despite a federal lawsuit filed by Michael Arrington (who was previously involved and responsible for the CrunchPad label), it seems that the JooJoo is still moving closer towards mass production. Many simply forgot about the device after the lawsuit was said to have been holding things up, and of course, with the buzz surrounding the iPad at deafening levels, it was hard to focus on anything else.
Now, CSL Group is said to be subsidizing production costs in exchange for a certain portion of the revenue from sales. With this company's help, Fusion Garage expects the first wave of pre-order shipments to happen by the end of this month. If you'll recall, this product was also priced at $499, though it's expected to be far more capable than the iPad due the iPhone OS being so limited in scope. It should be interesting to see how all of this pans out; the JooJoo and the iPad are priced the same, but Apple has the edge in marketing. In fact, many outside of hardcore tech world wouldn't recognize the JooJoo by its own name. Will a small startup facing legal issues be able to make a dent in the reforming tablet landscape? We should find out as the first units begin to ship in just a few weeks.
Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan is the most visible figure now involved in the process, and despite a federal lawsuit filed by Michael Arrington (who was previously involved and responsible for the CrunchPad label), it seems that the JooJoo is still moving closer towards mass production. Many simply forgot about the device after the lawsuit was said to have been holding things up, and of course, with the buzz surrounding the iPad at deafening levels, it was hard to focus on anything else.
Now, CSL Group is said to be subsidizing production costs in exchange for a certain portion of the revenue from sales. With this company's help, Fusion Garage expects the first wave of pre-order shipments to happen by the end of this month. If you'll recall, this product was also priced at $499, though it's expected to be far more capable than the iPad due the iPhone OS being so limited in scope. It should be interesting to see how all of this pans out; the JooJoo and the iPad are priced the same, but Apple has the edge in marketing. In fact, many outside of hardcore tech world wouldn't recognize the JooJoo by its own name. Will a small startup facing legal issues be able to make a dent in the reforming tablet landscape? We should find out as the first units begin to ship in just a few weeks.
