Fusion Garage’s Joo Joo Tablet Carries $499 Price Tag

By Geoff Duncan December 7, 2009

Aside from the mythical Apple tablet, few non-existent devices have generated quite the buzz of the so-called CrunchPad, a device allegedly dreamed up by controversial TechCrunch blogger Mark Arrington so he could surf the net from his couch. Hardware engineering had been underway on the CrunchPad for some time—with Arrington repeatedly lauding its virtues and promising rock-bottom price tags—when the whole project seemed to go pear-shaped last week, with Arrington declaring the project dead and partners Fusion Garage apparently planning to move ahead with the device on their own. Today, Fusion Garage is making good on that, teasing a tablet device it is calling The Joo Joo that promises to put Web browsing on a large, lightweight touchscreen tablet.

Fusion Garage Joo Joo — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Although details are still a bit sketchy, Fusion Garage describes the Joo Joo as a tablet device with a 12.1-inch capacitive touch screen display; the Joo Joo runs a Unix operating system and boots directly into a Web browser in under 10 seconds—no other applications are available on the device, although of course users will be able to run Web-based applications. The device connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi—no mobile data service is available—and the device features a 4 GB SSD for storage, microphone and headphone jacks, as well as microSD storage. The device weighs about 2.4 pounds and promises 5 hours of use on a single battery charge.

Fusion Garage will launch pre-orders for the Joo Joo on December 11, with a $499 price tag.

The legal wrangling between Fusion Garage and Mark Arrington seems to be just be getting started. In declaring the project dead, Arrington accused Fusion Garage of stealing its intellectual property, claiming that the companies worked together on the product and neither TechCrunch nor Fusion Garage owned the IP behind the tablet outright. Fusion Garage claims that it has sole ownership of the device, which was already underway before Arrington began musing about his dream Internet tablet, and there was no contractual relationship between the two companies. The whole brouhaha may well be a legitimate legal tussle, a publicity stunt to garner attention leading up to the launch of the device…or perhaps both.

Fusion Garage Joo Joo — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Topics

Emerging Tech

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Emerging Tech

Meet the game-changing pitching robot that can perfectly mimic any human throw

baseball hitter swings and misses

Who’s your favorite baseball pitcher? Shane McClanahan? Sandy Alcantara? Justin Verlander? Whoever you said, two of the top sports-tech companies in the U.S. -- Rapsodo and Trajekt Sports -- have teamed up to build a robot version of them, and the results are reportedly uncannily accurate.

Okay, so we’re not talking about walking-talking-pitching standalone robots, as great a sci-fi-tinged MLB ad as that would be. However, Rapsodo and Trajekt have combined their considerable powers to throw a slew of different technologies at the problem of building a machine that's able to accurately simulate the pitching style of whichever player you want to practice batting against -- and they may just have pulled it off, too.

Outdoors

The best portable power stations

EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Emerging Tech

CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation

Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.