

CrunchPad is 'steamrolling along,' will cost between $300 and $400 - transburgh
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/15/crunchpad-is-steamrolling-along-will-cost-between-300-and-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+%28Engadget%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

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brandonkm
Is anyone else much less excited about the CrunchPad than they used to be?
This bit of news is the first I heard about the CrunchPad in months, I used to
think it was a great idea, now... not so much. A 12" tablet that boots into
firefox? I'm perfectly happy with my android phone. Is this supposed to be a
mobile device? I have hard time imagining how successful a single purpose
tablet will be for people on the go. Devices now are about convergence. For
$300-400 you could buy a netbook, iPhone, or Droid. The average consumer won't
see any value in purchasing an overpriced internet tablet over alternative
devices (that have more functionality and are smaller).

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andyking
If it'll only work when you're somewhere with wi-fi, that immediately cripples
its usefulness. Amazon realised this with the Kindle - that's why they went to
the considerable trouble of dealing with the telcos to include a SIM card and
connection to a mobile network.

I agree - for the cost of this, you can pick up a high-spec notebook or
smartphone that can access the web just about anywhere. Why would you want
this highly limited device that'll be a shiny-looking paperweight in all but a
few locations?

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wmeredith
You'd want it if you were going to leave it in a location with WiFi. Like when
I use this (or a Mac tablet, if it's out sooner) to replace the aging 12"
Powerbook G4 that my wife and I use to surf the net while we watch TV. It sits
on my coffee table, in my house, where I've always got WiFi. It's been in that
same room for all but about 10 hours of the last ~500 hours of its life.

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bonsaitree
While I'd love Apple to have some competition in the forthcoming tablet space,
this is PURE speculation put forth by an organization with ZERO history of
shipping ANY manufactured devices.

Hey Engadget, why don't you wait for, I dunno, an actual realized working
device (even in prototype form) before you devote labor and pixels to
"covering" vaporware.

You're also not doing any credence to your editorial reputation by merely
being YouTube podcast stenographers.

Add actual insight or you're wasting everyone's time and attention.

PRO-TIP: When citing, you can link WITHIN a YouTube video's time index using
the "#t=39m" suffix. (Ex. <http://tinyurl.com/yj26c4x> )

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litewulf
(whoa whoa whoa. Has Apple, you know, actually talked about a realized device?
Are you not doing the very thing you are criticizing engadget for?)

\- A very happy Vista-running tablet user.

~~~
bonsaitree
The criticism was directed towards Engadget's "coverage" of vaporware as mere
video stenography--not statements by Techcrunch.

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vaksel
if it was steamrolling along, we would have seen it for sale in August, like
they planned.

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bradgessler
The Kindle, nook, and rumors of an Apple tablet sucked any excitement out of
this.

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veemjeem
Yeah, but the Apple tablet is not going to cost $300... probably more like
$1000 if the rumor is even true.

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johnnybgoode
I just don't see why this would be worth $300-$400. Based on what I've seen, I
doubt the software will be really good.

Edit: Remember when it was supposed to cost $200? Then it was $300, and now
it's even more.

