We're not super familiar with the term "steamrolling along" as it applies to device launches, but apparently it's good news for Michael Arrington's
CrunchPad tablet. Mike dropped the news on a recent episode of Steve Gillmor's "Gillmor Gang" podcast (like "Gilmore Girls," but with less inter-generational drama), saying that he's not sure where the
rumor of cost being too high came from, since costs continue to come down. The "$300 to $400" price range he's quoting is a bit higher than we'd heard previously, but it still sounds pretty good for a 12-inch touchscreen device. He also made mention of "soft revenue" and "sponsorships" on the device, akin to the revenue Firefox gets from its Google search box, and added that it won't impact the user experience. Outside of those tidbits Mike says they're working on making it "perfect," and that there should be some big news about the device coming shortly. Video is after the break, CrunchPad discussion starts at the 39 minute mark.
posted Nov 15th 2009 4:57AM
"Perfect" can take a long time, just release it!
Yapping about devices that will never see mass production. Definitely more "vaporware" to get Engadget types excited. File this device along with "flying" cars and jetpacks.
Perfection is the enemy of "good enough." While they screw around with this, the rest of the industry leaps forward...and Android-based tablets are on the horizon.
What other tablet can you get for $400 today? Well, fair question...but you can't get this thing either right now. Also, keep in mind that this thing is not a general purpose tablet. It is a browser with no access to the shell OS and questionable support for documents. It will view web pages and do Flash. Many requests for document support (e.g., PDF, open office) have gone unanswered. Okay, great, it's still a nice tablet for surfing and watching Hulu...but without a decent GPU and Flash 10.1, that will be very jittery Hulu.
With such limited function, this thing was attractive at the initial $200 estimate...which then went to $300...and is now at $300-$400...which almost certainly means $400 or up.
I was waiting for this for some time...and then got tired of waiting without any info...so I bought a netbook for $300. I then bought an Ion-based Acer AspireRevo (Atom 330) for the living room for another $300. Both are full-purpose devices. I can view the web...*and* docs...*and* watch 1080 video...*and* do anything else that I want.
Yes, it looked great on paper...and then the prototypes looked fantastic...but ever increasing price, limited functionality, and no general purpose apps beyond browsing? Yeah, okay, thanks but no...I'll probably be able to get an Android-based tablet for the same price by the time this thing sees the light of day (if ever)...and it will be far more functional.
Of course, if this vapor ever condenses, I might change my mind after some hands-on reviews...but it's vapor now, has been for over a year, and the "news" (aka, marketing) itself indicates that this must be a slow news day. What, no news about Art Lebedev redesigning a clothes pin?
Hey, for all of the timing and reality issues, wouldn’t it be cool to come up with a product and move through production? If you are not a pro how long would that take? At least somebody in this world has gumption, while everybody else waits for their tech to arrive by FedEx.
It is a potentially very cool product. As I sat here on the porch with coffee and my iPhone, I decided to get my Air to type and browse more. Something like this is the morning paper. It should run Chrome, but if it ran Android it would be much cooler.
Your comment would rebuff me if I was not typing this response on a wireless keyboard from my couch looking at a 46" Samsung being driven by a $300 Atom 330 Ion-based Acer nettop.
DRM video? Not a problem...it runs Windows 7 Home 64 bit.
Yeah, folks are building things. ;)
As bad as AM radio.
vapoware alert ...
..that's what 'steamrolling' stands for.
Steamrolling: the gadget-centric version of rickrolling.
When I hear "CrunchPad", I think "reading an ebook in the bathroom". And the "steamrolling" starts to make a lot more sense.
Looks very interesting! I'll be considering it when it's out.
However, the $300 - $400 USD price range will more likely be $350 - $450 EURO here in the EU. >:(
"$ Euro", is this the currency that President Blair will be introducing?
@Oli D
President Blair? Euro is not the currency in UK which has no president and the prime minister of UK goes by the name of Gordon Brown.Lol
Ha i love your attempt at making me look stupid. I am studying UK politics at university.
Blair is tipped to become the President of the EU, and Loocas said $ Euro, which doesn't make sense.
I fucked it up, ok?
Copy&Paste is a biatch...
@ Oli D
I do not have sixth sense to process the intense amount of speculation in your earlier sentence.Anyway making you look stupid was the last thing on my mind and I genuinely did not understand your earlier statement so take it easy.
@Oli D
Blair is most likely out, according to my sources :P
And it's not "President of the EU", but of the "European Council".
@word: umm......what??? /offtopic
it should just be released already. then i can pretend to be dave bowman or frank poole checking the news while eating meals
@word
It's to early to be trolling.
@word
werd
The only reason I would disagree with word is that the OS that it runs is different, otherwise I think Apple will come out with their "iTab" (it will probably look similar, cost twice as much and wait, it will come in white too!!) and it will be the best thing to ever happen to tablets. Now I love many of Apples products, but I can't stand when something like this comes out and is brushed off, then Apple will do similar (most likely better) and it will be the best thing to the fanboys.
Looks like everything with a touch screen and a black bevel was designed by apple, I mean they invented that combo right?
@duggy: Don't forget, they've also got a patent on that combo... :P
An iPod touch is far more useful than this thing. And should Apple design a tablet, even if it leans more toward being a big ass iPod touch, it would also prove more functional.
^ SlaterGS' point
Nice.... some good news to go with the morning Coffee..
When I can actually try it, I'll get interested.
How much storage are we looking at?
None. This device is intended for browsing the web ONLY... and that's why it will fail miserably. For the same price (or less), you can get a netbook that does so much more. Sure, cheap netbooks don't have touchscreens, but I'd rather have a keyboard on a portable computer than a touchscreen anyway.
I bet this would go nicely with GoogleOS.
its like the Peek...
Try none.
Could easily be 32 GB or higher of flash storage.
Mike, I think you're underestimating the market for a dedicated web browser.
I am still waiting for a tablet (this one seems a bit too big) that I can just keep in the living room for web browsing, especially when we have guests over.
A net book is an awkward shape with awkward navigation with (currently) too long a boot time to be convenient. I'd like a touch screen with multi-touch.
I just want this thing docked on the console beneath my TV so anyone can grab it, snap it on and check something online, perhaps passing from person to person to see a video, etc.
The new Archos Android tablet is almost perfect but a bit small.
I hate to say it but the Apple rumors seem like a perfect match for what I want.
oh btw i guarantee this thing infringes on patents from different companies. If i were any big tech company i would be reviewing my tablet patents right about now and prepare a lawsuit against techcrunch
aIso ill take the Microsoft courier over this. it runs windows 7, while this gaypad is just a pos browser with a non-ergonomic on-scren keyboard.
Courier is just a concept, not even a built one at that. The only demonstration was a conceptual video of the possibilities, and seeing as how their Surface hasn't become broadly available, I think you're going to be waiting a long time.
Thanks for the guarantee. It sure means a lot to me.
You take the Courier if you want. Whether you actually buy one for $1000 when released, or whether you're just all talk on the internet, I'm sure we can all work that out for ourselves...
Another Useless Junk,
I think it's too early consider the CrunchPad a failure and I also think it's not accurate to compare it to a netbook, they are not trying to create another device to compete in that same market. Rather, the CrunchPad seems to be more in line with what the eBook readers do for reading print media - the CrunchPad is a feature specific device for casual browsing of the internet. While it's probably not the ideal device for doing hardcore research for your next school/work project, it's fine for browsing blogs, reading the news, or shopping while sitting on the couch and watching TV. While the price is still starting to creep up with seemingly each update on the status, it still seems like an interesting concept and I'm looking forward to trying it out when (if, but hopefully not) it comes out.
It's not unfair to compare this to a netbook, because it IS a netbook. It'll have an Atom processor, and it will run Linux. Like a netbook, it's primary purpose will be to browse the web. It's a netbook with a touchscreen, and no keyboard.
oh.. you mean like a motorcycle is a car without two wheels? or like peanut butter is a sandwich without the bread? a homeless guy is a millionaire without the dough?
@Mike Cerm >> "Like a netbook, it's primary purpose will be to browse the web. It's a netbook with a touchscreen, and no keyboard."
But, a real netbook can run almost any Windows application... Word, Excel, and a web browser that can SAVE files to a hard drive. You can dump your digital camera memory cards to a netbook while you're on the road... and do almost everything a full size laptop can do.
The CrunchPad is only for browsing the web, and maybe some unknown document reading... a netbook is all that, plus it's a small REAL computer.
The bezel is too wide! I'd rather a slightly thicker device with a less wide bezel and more display surface area.
Based on everything I've read about this device, this picture is just a mock-up that's supposed to be close to what the shipping version will look like, but I agree that the bezel on the left and the right seems huge unless that's where they're trying to put some decent speaks to make sites like YouTube more appealing.
I think the question is not of wider screen and smaller bezel, but more of a question of wider bezel or thicker depth?
The wide bezel gives the device space to pop plug-in ports and battery space on such a thin depth, which would have to be fattened up by an edge-to-edge screen, in order to accommodate ports and battery.
Holy Shit.
The most boring, dull and repetitive argument resurfaces on Engadget again - the bezel is too wide!
I mean, like you actually have an opinion on that.
It has a 12" screen, the Apple tablet / Courier are rumoured to have 10" screens.
I guess some nerds would rather have 10"
JS, I just noticed half of your recent posts are about bezels being too wide.
Shut the fuck up already and get a new line
The bezel has to be wide enough for you to be able to hold the device without accidentally touching the touchscreen itself.
Don't worry about how it looks, so much as how it works. Apparently, most production tablets have wide bezels. Don't you need some area at least as wide as your thumb to hold onto without putting your thumb all over the screen? This is just simple ergonomics. Do you intend to balance it from the back all the time? You're not going to be able to "palm it" as you would a narrow cellphone, you know.
Erm, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind being able to hold the device in ways that won't activate on-screen controls or whatnot. So a bit of a bezel is nice, it gives you enough grip to hold it with one hand while you drink or whatever :)
besides,
that bezel (shown in the mock up) is actually smaller than an iphone's..
The Gillmor Gang bang
"Mike, have you looked at Qualcomm's new color e-ink, that they say is gonna be out...? They were coming by... they have apparently a... you know... it's a... what is it... is it a... you know... a micro, umm... physical thing, that actually flips little pieces of colored paper, in tiny little pixel sizes..."
Wow, that was painful to listen to! If Engadget ever starts to sound like that, I'm gonna shoot myself!
The Crunchpad isn't bad, but I wish it had a bit more functionality. Like if it could read ebooks, take notes, pdfs, etc. as well as the web browsing than it'd be very tempting for $300-$400, but for just the internet, I'll stick to my netbooks and MIDs
And for those that might think it, yes, I know MIDs are very niche, but I like my gadgets of all sizes--why else would I be commenting on Engadget so early on a Sunday morning?
When i first heard about this i was very excited. Now i have simply lost interest. There are so many touch screen tablets planned for release in 2010, many running android, i think if you have waited this long, you can wait a few more months, for something better and probably cheaper.
How could you possibly handle this device without touching the touchscreen if there was no bezel?
Soon "cheap" pine trial netbook type tablets would be a smarter buy for most people.
However this would be a brilliant media remote/player
I'm surprised the CP $ backers are still going along. It's obsolete before it gets released unless they pack in some more functionality. 2010 looks like to be the year of the tablet AND color eReader. Competition is going to be maxed out and from what has been shown of the CP to-date, it's a beauty queen -- looks great but no depth.
oh and 2010 will also be the year of linux
I keep hear it's gonna be called and marketed with the name Couchpad when the naming rights are secured from sources on high.
Very nice :)
very nice indeed. oh... right the CrunchPad isn't bad either :)
Yeah, it looks like "steamrolling" is code for blowing hot, moist air. Presumably up an orifice.
This is less about a slate than "Can you ride life looking in your and your friends' navels?"
To me having (and maintaining) a particular device for every conceivable scenario is a nightmare.
Chrome OS
Advertising?! It's already impacting my experience with it and I don't even have one.
he said "software revenue" not "soft revenue".
Anybody noticed the weird noises around 47:38 ?!!!
Steamrolling is when an exciting new games comes along... but it requires Steam to play it.
So a skinny, designed-for-battery-power Chumby, without the functionality and with "sponsorships" built into the software? For 3-4 times the price?
Only Apple and Microsoft can get away with that kind of crap.
I believe "steamrolling along" means "surely and steadily and Lord help you if you get in the way"
I caller failure at the first price hike and this just confirms it.
Mike, you just wont be able to sell a device that costs the same price as a netbook, but with half of the functionality. Keep in mind, we are talking half the functionality of a NETBOOK. If people want a cheap tablet that they can browse the web on and do little else, they will go for an iTouch or a ZuneHD. Or a used iTouch, and a netbook. And they still would have only spent the amount you are talking.
Thanks but no thanks.
I'm looking forward to this thing releasing so it can help start to better define the MID/ebook/slate market prior to Apple coming in and making the price range for the segment too high.
As long as it does proper full fledged Flash video (if hardware accelerated all the better via tegra or better) handles input well ( easy to use GUI that has things like copy/paste from the start) and is open enough that users or developers can make apps to handle Netflix, Hulu or future online streaming services that might pop up it will be a possible market leader.
I know those are somewhat lofty wants/needs but the idea of Apple just making a large screen iPod that relies on iTunes to get video isn't appealing to me at this point at all so since the rumors that Apple are going to bring out a similar device this would have to be more than a portable media center, color e-book or a slate style netbook.
This can be the device that geeks have lusted after for years that serves as a gateway to their content in a portable package that lends itself to surfing from the couch/toilet ( you know people already use their phones in there) and has the framework to allow you to pick how you want to access your content conveniently rather than booting up your laptop or having to deal with too small of a screen.
Personally, I hate having to use a laptop or netbook to surf while watching TV because fullscreen Flash is crap on most netbooks and unless you want to spend a good amount of money on a laptop it wont be light or quiet.
I kinda wish the CE companys would've already made something like this because computer companys don't get the usage model even though Intel has been pushing the MID concept for years.
Kinda seems like Sony or Samsung would have already brought something like this out rather than adding "net" functionality to their newer TV's cause this would also make just about the best remote possible too and buy making it a home orientated device it wouldn't cut into moblie device sales but instead help tie all one access to sources of media into a more centralized device.