
TechCrunch Tablet Update: Prototype B - dcurtis
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/19/techcrunch-tablet-update-prototype-b/
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lapenne
This is the sort of stuff I would be excepeting out of YCombinator startups.
Instead we got mostly lame web 2.0 websites with no clear business model.
Okay, that was a bit harsh, but still - I think most of the YCombinator
applicants don't have enough ambition and the ideas are too focused on the web
2.0 world.

~~~
antidaily
Is this really that innovative? for $299, I can get a Dell mini 9 or countless
other netbooks (some of which can be hacked to run OSX). In terms of providing
value, give me a web 2.0 tool that helps my business or helps me lose weight
or whatever... over this thing.

~~~
bprater
The other advantage of a laptop is that it includes a "kickstand" by default
(the keyboard). When I'm laying on the couch, I have the laptop on my chest
and use a wireless mouse.

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mixmax
Looks like they might actually pull it off..

I didn't expect that, it certainly deserves some respect.

~~~
bprater
It's one thing to build a prototype.

It's an entirely different ballgame to put a prototype into production.

Someone has to print out boards, solder stuff on the boards, burn an OS on a
drive, order parts from suppliers, and have a rigerous testing program.

Then you need to package up these puppies in pretty boxes and get them shipped
out.

Oh, don't forget a crew of folks to man phones and deal with new orders and
support issues. Don't forget the salespeople you'll need to get these into the
hands of big suppliers.

Prototypes ain't hard. (More accurately: they tend to be inexpensive and you
can fit everything you need into your two-car garage.) It's the business model
that wraps around it that gets expensive and time-consuming.

Best of luck though to the crew. I like to see new competitors. It pushes
everyone's game up.

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joeyo
While all this is true, the process of moving from a prototype into production
is a more or less solved problem. For example, there are a lot of companies
that one can outsource the actual pick-and-place, assembly and packing to. The
same goes for support and sales, I'd imagine. If the VC money is in place,
this part should just be turning the crank.

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corentin
By your logic, you could have outsourced the design as well.

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Prrometheus
Design is less of a commodity.

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markessien
It's not going to work. The major problem I see is that we only have two arms
- if both are holding the device, how do you input data into it. If you drop
it on the table, then it's flat on the table, which is also uncomfortable to
enter data into. You want something that leans towards you.

What they need to do to make this work is:

1\. Drop all the border around the touchscreen. Make the screen almost flush
with the plastic around it

2\. Use metal for the edges - like the macbook pro. Pay extreme attention to
the external aesthetics

3\. Make it smaller. One should be able to hold it comfortably with one hand
and type with the other

4\. Increase the size of the on-screen keyboard

~~~
froo
1) I assume they can't get rid of the border because of the camera that comes
with it.

3) If you read the article, it will be probably half as thick the final
product - this is just a prototype which they left lots of room in it.

With the being flat on a table thing, what about the addition of foldable
clips that would put it on an angle (like underneath your keyboard) - that
would fix that problem.

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markessien
It still does not solve the typing problem. You view the thing on an angle,
but you want to type on a flat or slightly up tilted surface.

~~~
pbrown
In the comments, Arrington mentions that the final product will ship with a
stand, and also have a USB, earphones, and power port. I guess you could set
it on the table, plug in a USB keyboard, and plug it into power. Then again,
now it's a laptop.

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axod
I don't understand why people would want this over a netbook. Having a screen
flat on your lap could make things pretty uncomfortable. Whilst holding it in
one hand while you type with the other could be equally irritating.

Might be nice to mount on the wall though, for example in the kitchen so you
can look up recipes while you cook.

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iamdave
Well I could be wrong but it looks like in one of those screenshots it has a
USB port; what's stopping someone from just getting a keyboard and using it?

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axod
How do you hook up the screen into a nice position? The reason laptops work
well is because the screen can be positioned well.

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RK
Apparently you use legos to build a stand.

~~~
axod
Or as non-Americans call it, "Lego"

</pedantic>

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richcollins
> Because the device skips the resource-sucking parts of the operating system
> and focuses on one application - the browser - very low end hardware can be
> used and still give users a desktop-like Internet browsing experience.

I guess he never looks his Activity Monitor / Task Manager

~~~
streety
I was thinking the same thing. I know firefox on vista can get up to 1Gb of
ram without too much trouble. My understanding is that webkit is a little less
resource hungry though.

The article also says, "The software: currently we’re running a full install
of Ubuntu Linux on the prototype with a custom Webkit browser." Sounds as
though they are needlessly limiting themselves in the marketing spiel.

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matthewking
You've got to love the LEGO stand they've made for it..

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greyman
It doesn't look bad, but Asus will come with a new generation of their EEE
netbooks this year, which could be folded to tablet pc with multitouch (Eee PC
T91). So for a few more bucks I will get superset of Crunchpad with much more
functions (normal netbook, keyboard, gps, tv receiver etc).

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guruz
you will almost always get more for a few more bucks. the question is if you
want/need more.

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ph0rque
Didn't the original idea post mention that they will make the tablet open-
source?

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jwesley
I'm sure Big Mike would have no problem going back on that if it looks like
this thing could make a mint.

~~~
jodrellblank
Your comment is nothing but an ad-hom. Do you have any evidence to support
that he might?

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sdfx
For me, it all comes down to price. I think a lot of people might consider it
if it costs 200$, whether they "need" it or not (cf. the netbook effect). For
300$ and above I'm not so shure.

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vaksel
I sure hope they don't call it the Techcrunch Tablet...talk about a crappy
boring name. They need to call it Crunchpad...at least that has a cool sound,
and has a hint of Apple like branding.

Hell you can see that it's a great name, because in the comments half the
people are already calling it a Crunchpad.

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ryanwaggoner
If my damn iPhone would just get flash already, I wouldn't have much need for
something like this.

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vlad
They need to make sure they have a very low-power mode. When the tablet is
placed in the stand, it should both charge as well as serve as a digital photo
frame automatically.

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noonespecial
Excellent. Another candidate to embed in my wall near light switches to
control my X10 stuff.

I'm still rooting for the Picwing guys though.

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tsetse-fly
It's a cool toy, but I really can't imagine how/where I would use it in-place
of my laptop.

What are some use cases?

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froo
Give it a stand and use in the kitchen for recipes etc while cooking?

Perhaps as an entry level product for people who don't know how to use a mouse
but might want to use the internet.

A basis for some kind of learning device for younger kids (if they get it more
robust that is).

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tsetse-fly
Seems like an expensive recipe catalog.

I don't think it's a very good idea to use electronics while you're cooking.
Getting grease on anything that can't be scrubbed under running water is very
irritating. There's a more durable solution to this: paper. You don't have to
worry about washing your hands before touching it and if you splatter food on
it then it's disposable.

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jonknee
I use my netbook for recipes all the time. It's on the bar, I don't keep it
next to the fryer--no grease issues.

That said, I think the netbook works better than this tablet, it has a built-
in stand and storage so I keep commonly used recipes on it. I have been baking
quite a bit lately so recipes actually come in handy.

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czcar
i think it will work (if not in this iteration then another), it does one
thing, and hopefully well. it allows the owner to consume information. which
is one of the main tenets of the internet.

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czcar
this would be a killer device for university students aswell, i would love
being able to carry this to class vs 4 different massive textbooks, and
imagine how much more useful a chemistry/finance etc textbook would be if
every page was interactive, imagine quick referencing and word definition

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streety
Everything you've described could be done with a standard laptop and you
wouldn't need to make all the sacrifices.

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ikor
It reminds me UMPC thing from MSFT, but cheaper.

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BenS
I'd like to see this running android.

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TweedHeads
I like this one better:

<http://www.ianmikutel.com/storage/CrunchPad.jpg>

