We had a chance to sit down and talk with
Chandra Rathakrishnan of Fusion Garage yesterday for a more in-depth discussion than our
previous meeting provided, and we learned a few interesting tidbits about both the
Joojoo, as well as the company's
highly public troubles with
Michael Arrington (before the
latest move). Amongst the more juicy items discussed, we got further technical info on the Joojoo itself, including the fact that the system has 1GB of RAM, a separate GPU for graphics processing (which Rathakrishnan says is capable of at least iPhone level gaming), and an interesting
slot along the side. Just what kind of slot, you ask? Well apparently there are plans for a 3G equipped version of the Joojoo on the horizon. Chandra says we won't see it in Q1 2010, but the second version will appear on the market during the next calendar year. Additionally, the company is supposedly in talks right now with media publishers -- an interesting note considering that the Joojoo looks surprisingly like those Time Inc. and Condé Nast
digimag demos we've
seen recently. Chandra also claims that the company is working on deals that could lead to subsidized versions of the tablet, even without the inclusion of 3G. Of course, given the current legal status of the device, you can add all this speculative talk to a growing list of question marks.
There's plenty more in the video, including some further insight into the confusing situation with Michael Arrington over the creation and ownership of the device, and more clarity on how exactly that rumored Atom CPU is handling 1080p playback without stuttering. It's pretty darned interesting, actually. Check out the full chat after the break!
posted December 11th 2009 3:02PM
Joshua, you make me proud to be from brooklyn.
@(Unverified) I can't even listen to more than a few seconds of him talking. His voice is like nails down a chalkboard!!
@Khris I love the geeky goodness!
@(Unverified) Topolsky != Geeky Goodness
I timed the talking times in this video:
Chandra - 3 minutes 11 seconds
Josh - 4 minutes 10 seconds
Just sayin'.
@(Unverified) Chandra looks like a Webkinz. I wish to adopt his head. This is all.
@(Unverified)
I'm going to back you up (on the josh rocking bit - as i'm not from brooklyn).
It's always going to be personal opinion.. but I think he speaks really well, and there have been american accents that have compleatly ruined presentations for me (though on the flip side, before I start a flame war.. morgan freeman has one of the best voices in the world)..
@geekthree
In my opinion it's not the accents it's the intelligence level they show when they speak.
@(Unverified)
Seriously, Thanks for doing this interview!
@thephatness
Yeah josh was trying hard to pull some info and statements from him, and not completely without success, so I have no complaints about that talk time distribution.
@(Unverified) Joshua made our day complete. Good news for who ... it's a lawsuit. TechCrunch readers will not be in any hurry to support this product. Another JooJoo POV: http://bit.ly/joojoo-who-tablet
Also, a tripod would have helped this interview immensely.
@(Unverified)
Eh. I'm ok with the hand-held nature of this.
I found the constant camera movement and resulting loss of subject focus to be far more annoying and distracting. Sure it's cool to use a shallow field of depth on a DSLR, but make sure you can keep your subject in focus if you feel the need to move around all the time.
@Scape3d right, i agree... not concered about the video, very happy to see more video on the site!
@Voss +1 on that. Someone needs to whip that autofocus into shape. However, I rather have shallow depth; someone just needs to get some more play time with that camera.
Also, give the 'interviewee' a mic, too!
@RicoTrevisan +1 for the interviewee microphone, especially if they're a mumbler
Shakycam isn't so bad, but please hold back on the giant out of focus head looming over half the screen.
P.s, please employ me as a camera monkey, engadget!
why is engadget obsessed with this story. I'm frankly sick of it saturating the feed. I really don't care.
@8steve8 because its dramarific.
@8steve8
Are you kidding? This story is so crazy I'd be upset to not know more about it. You might be sick of the device itself but the drama that's emerged between Fusion Garage and Arrington can't be made up....or can it?
Knowing how douchey Arrington can be, I'm kind of starting to side with Nilay Patel's theory that this is all just a big hoax for publicity. Seriously, don't put that past Michael Arrington.
It may be dramarific, but it's about a product most of us will never buy, or even remotely consider buying. I'd rather be reading about the Google/Apple "fued". Heck, I'd rather be reading terribly sourced rumors
Did you guys hear Microsoft has a hand in developing the OS for Apple's tablet? A version of Windows Mobile 7 is going to debut in it in Q2
@EGOvoruhk i will admit that is "enteresting" but it still lacks the soap opera caliber of drama this feud offers.
@8steve8
Agreed. This is the Paris Hilton of tech news. Just report on some new Android phones already or something.
@8steve8 but yet you cared enough to comment.
@8steve8
I agree - it's about as interesting about Tiger Woods and his affairs... actually, Tiger is pretty interesting.
The JooJoo (not crazy about the name either) will be judged as harshly as every other device out there - proof is in the pudding. If it is junk, nobody will care how it got that way. If it is amazing, nobody will care how it got that way.
@8steve8 The story itself is hilarious and a riot to follow, yet the device itself is completely unwarranted to receive this kind of attention. As soon as they said it would cost 500 dollars I stopped caring about the device, but became interested in the whole fiasco even more lol.
this guy is so ugly
There's no need to say that, especially as a comment on something he might be reading, what is there to be gained?
@rimtutituki Yeah, Topolsky is pretty hard to look at.
This guy is actually not that ugly
http://www.crunchbase.com/person/chandrasekar-rathakrishnan
@Nokia N900
Ha. I read his bio and this is funny..."Chanda is also a patent holder in the area of operating systems, possibly for the custom OS that can be found on Fusion Garage’s soon-to-be failure of a tablet named the JooJoo."
@Nokia N900
I'm sorry, your link doesn't help.
This whole thing just seems so sketchy. I don't think I'd trust either of these parties.
@hey sadly, me neither :-( ... and the pad looks so sexy
Cha-Kah mad, Cha-Kah smash contract.
@glamajamma
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.........AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
@Scape3d
ROFL AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA HOLY SHIT THAT WAS HILARIROUS, CHAKA MAD, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Posted this on the previous discussion on the Joojoo... WHO CARES?!?!?! This is an overpriced piece of hardware that has had WAAAY too much spotlight for what it is. Engadget, I love your articles, but as of late there has been little news on here of interest. I hate to see more of this "filler" type article that I personally don't care about and haven't since the price of this thing was outed.
@amovitz and what is the difference between this and a computer/device from Apple? Most of their stuff is overpriced too.
@amovitz
It's not overpriced hardware, considering that a netbook isn't much cheaper (at least one with ION runs you about $399 + tax at HP). If you took the same hardware and slapped on an Apple OS with fit and polish, people would be clamoring for the device like zombies.
It's not the hardware that's really the problem. It's the software. It's the ecosystem. That's the difference between the iPhone and the Droid, the HD2, and the Pre. It's the reason why the iPod was super successful. Vertical integration where you control all parts of the user experience from movies to music to apps to the hardware is the reason why Apple is the one company that seems to "get it". And it takes a multi-disciplined company refined in all aspects to make a product that works well for everyone.
Again, hardware is plenty fine. It's always been the software and ecosystem where other companies have failed.
@amovitz
It's just basic business. FG cannot produce enough of these units to sell at a lower price point yet. They do not have the money to produce millions of these devices. The first wave of hardware is to raise money/interest and the subsequent generations of hardware will see a reduction in price due to large quantity orders and higher volume sales. When everything settles down a $350-$400 price point unsubsidized is very do-able.
Did they purposely try to not get a straight shot of this guy's face?
@DonDon Probably. When i see it, all i can think of is:
"Cornelius!!!!!!"
Its a bad idea for Chandra to be giving interviews with litigation pending; that being said, he does a good job.
@Shawn Roberts
Seemed to me like he was obtuse in explaining why he appeared in photos and blogs to be working alongside MA to make the CrunchPad. Nothing he said cleared up the relationship with MA; they were working together without working together?
When people can't explain things simply, they seem to me to be lying.
@gerrrg
What are you? The alabama homeland security guy?
From @Nokia N900's CrunchBase link:
"Chanda is also a patent holder in the area of operating systems, possibly for the custom OS that can be found on Fusion Garage’s soon-to-be failure of a tablet named the JooJoo."
This is completely off topic, but:
I'M I THE ONLY ONE THAT FINDS IT EXTREMELY ANNOYING TO HAVE TO CLICK ALL THE LITTLE '+'S EVERY TIME I WANT TO READ ANY REPLIES?
...it's seriously annoying...I like the new layout and all, but having the replies inline, just indented, like it was before was much better IMHO.
@Schmitty338
Hi...hey...oh, hi. Yes, here I am under that damn "+." Yes, I hate having to open up replies to comments.
Also, WHY DOESN'T MY DAMN USER PIC SHOW UP, STILL?!!! Seriously, what am I doing wrong?!!!!
@Scape3d Even more, why do I still show up as "unverified"? New layout fail...