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iPad vs. JooJoo... fight!
Sure, they might be worlds apart in quality, usefulness, and desirability, but even still, comparisons are inevitable. The iPad (right) and the JooJoo (left) hit the hands of consumers on the same weekend, offer large-screen browsing experiences controlled entirely by a capacitive touchscreen, and... well, you get the idea. So, how do the two devices stack up externally? It's a pretty fair fight, hardware-wise. The JooJoo is thicker and heavier, but also scores a good amount more screen space -- its 16:9 ratio almost turns it into an extruded lengthwise version of the 4:3 iPad. Unfortunately, that screen is a real let down when viewed off axis, and isn't nearly as responsive or accurate as the iPad's in use. Both of the devices offer scratch resistant glass fronts and brushed aluminum backs, though there's a bit of give to JooJoo's materials that smacks of slightly lower quality. You can read the reviews to get an idea of how dramatically different these two devices are in actual use, but if you want to satisfy a baser lust for straight-on comparison shots, hit up the gallery below.
Fusion Garage JooJoo review
We're not sure what's harder to believe: the fact that after months and months of the soap-opera-like drama that the JooJoo (formerly known as the CrunchPad) has finally landed in our hands, or that within just a few days there are now two capacitive touchscreen, browsing-heavy slate tablets on the market. Sure, it's probably not the best timing for a tablet start-up, but that doesn't diminish our interest in the 12-inch, Flash-playing JooJoo. The JooJoo is meant to be a browser-based tablet for surfing the web on your couch or while traveling, but with little previous hands-on time, we're still wondering how well it'll really work. And, obviously, whether or not it's a $499 experience on par or superior to Apple's iPad. Fear not, we'll tell you all you want to know in our magical review after the break. %Gallery-89792%
JooJoo ships to actual consumers, gets dissected for good measure
Can you believe it? No, seriously -- can your mind handle this realness? After months upon months of teetering on the brink of eternal vaporware, the JooJoo tablet is shipping to actual end-users. Yeah, we've had our media unit for a few days, but when you think about how many startups have dreams of shipping devices as substantial as this, just the sight of an unopened FedEx box from its warehouse makes an impact. Frankly, the timing here couldn't possibly be worse, but we're guessing a fair amount of to-be tablet buyers were holding back on plunking down their cold, hard cash to a company that was having issues with the most basic of business processes. So yes, Fusion Garage is actually shipping these to mere mortals today, and just in case you were curious about the insides, one of our engineering tipsters put his Harvard skills to good use by breaking into the casing and having a glance at the nuts and bolts. He told us that getting inside required the removal of just ten screws (using the correct screwdriver, mind you), and that the RAM slot (1GB provided) was easily accessible. For that matter, the mini PCIe SSD and extra mini PCIe slot were as well, and while he located a 3G SIM slot, he couldn't spot the 3G antenna. On the software front, he noted that he was having all sorts of issues, from Hotmail not loading (it demands an upgrade to a "newer browser" to Netflix streaming not being supported at all. Not exactly reassuring news, but hey, if you're up for hacking Windows 7 onto this thing, at least you can count on getting a product when you hand over those digits. [Thanks, Ashwani] %Gallery-89685%
The JooJoo is here... seriously (updated with video)
Of all days for this thing to arrive... it had to be today. Yes folks, as you can see in our gallery below, the JooJoo is not only real, but we've got one. We're not going to go into details right now, as we've got our hands kind of full this week, but we suggest you hang tight until our review hits (probably early next week) so you can make the final decision if it's going to be this thing or, you know, some other tablet. Or maybe you just want to keep that $500. Hey, it's your call, pal. For now, check out our unboxing, and at least breathe a sigh of relief that if you did shell out for one of these, it's likely going to hit your doorstep pretty darn soon. Update: Hey folks, we've got a video encoding right now which runs through some of the UI of the device. We hear you in comments, and would like to let you know that there's no conspiracy here -- it's a question of spending time with a device to review it properly. Unless you know what our schedule is like, we'd appreciate everyone chilling out on the episodes in comments. We're happy to shut them off on this post if you can't control yourselves. Update 2: Comments are off, video is after the break. Thanks for being mature. Just kidding. %Gallery-89564%
More bad juju for JooJoo: shipping delays, pre-sale questions
Monday, March 29 was supposed to be a happy day for Fusion Garage -- that's when the first JooJoo tablet pre-orders were scheduled to greet customers. Unfortunately, it's looking like Tuesday, March 30 will instead go down as yet another day full of unresolved questions for the fledgling company: not only did the 29th come and go without a peep, a new document from the TechCrunch lawsuit sent to Gizmodo suggests that only 90 total pre-orders were made as of February 11, and that 15 of those orders were canceled. Uh-oh. Now, Fusion Garage tells us that JooJoo units are actually in Los Angeles, where they've just been released from a paperwork-related customs delay, and that the "absolute worst case" is that they'll arrive to customers via overnight shipping on April 2nd, although FG is hoping for the 1st. We're also told that the 90 preorder number is low and the court documents are inaccurate because the company's relationship with PayPal was terminated over those issues with the terms of sale -- but the JooJoo website still lists PayPal as the only payment option. Right. See what we meant about questions? Oh, and just in case this whole saga wasn't sordid enough already, the "leaked document" making all these waves today is actually a statement by TechCrunch's lawyer made in support of a motion to enjoin Fusion Garage from selling the JooJoo, and it's been publicly available since February 22, when it was first filed -- you can check the whole thing in the PDF below. How or why it's being dredged up now is somewhat curious, if you're into that sort of conspiracy vibe, but we'd say the more interesting question is whether Fusion Garage actually gets the JooJoo to customers -- and whether or not it's good enough to erase the uniquely contentious circumstances of its birth. Update: Fusion Garage just called us to clarify their earlier comments: while the relationship with PayPal is ending in favor of a more traditional payment processor, it's still in place -- so that 90 number certainly seems more meaningful, although it is still over a month old. As for the shipment delays, we were also given a screenshot of the DHL manifest showing the customs delay -- check it after the break.
JooJoo tablet now shipping, should greet US consumers on March 29th
We noticed a minor textual change on the JooJoo order page just a few days back, and apparently it was no mistake -- Fusion Garage has announced today that its long-awaited tablet PC has started to ship from the factory. For those who pre-ordered (and stuck with it), they'll get theirs as early as March 29th, while everyone can get in line by plopping down their $499 after the fact. So, who all here is fully anticipating seeing their Joojoo arrive on Monday? Anyone taking a sick day in order to enjoy it? Don't fret -- we won't tell.
JooJoo finally shipping?
Do our eyes deceive us? Can it be that JooJoo -- the CrunchPad that wasn't -- has progressed from pre-order status to shipping? Sure seems that way. Two days ahead of the revised March 25th launch date we see that the JooJoo is now taking proper orders for their Ion-based $499 Atom tablet with 12.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, in the US anyway. So, did anyone get a revised delivery status? [Thanks, Marquel G.]
JooJoo refund issues creating some bad juju
Given the legally-disputed origins of the JooJoo and the current shipping delays, you'd think Fusion Garage would scrupulously maintain a squeaky-clean image with its customers as it leads up to launch, but it looks like it wasn't quite prepared to handle refunds in a sensible way -- we just confirmed that the company asked a customer for his bank account information in order to deposit a refund directly after running into some troubles with PayPal. Here's the relevant exchange: "Support Joojoo" wrote: Dear Rony, We have checked this at our end and there seems to be a problem with refunding via paypal. To avoid any further wait time, could you send us your bank name, bank account name, bank account number, sort or swift code and your bank address. We will have a direct transfer done to your bank account. If you could provide us the details today, we will ensure that the refund hits your bank account by friday of this week. Please advise . Sorry for the inconvenience caused. Fusion Garage tells us that this customer actually changed his mind about getting a refund several times, and that they've only had three customers with refund issues, all of which were related to problems with PayPal issuing credit long after pre-orders were placed. While it's uncommon here in the States (and obviously this buyer wasn't keen on it), bank to bank transfers are the norm in Europe and widely used for the wiring of cash across international lines. Clearly after the issues with PayPal, however, the idea of handing over bank details doesn't seem appealing in this case. We'll see how everyone feels when that promised March 25 ship date rolls around, and we'll let you know what happens with Rony and his refund when we find out more. Maybe next time just mail a check, guys.
JooJoo hits the FCC, reveals NVIDIA Ion, 3G card
Well well. We'd always suspected that the JooJoo tablet was hiding something extra to run HD video and Flash, and it's just hit the FCC with full documentation and a teardown confirming that there's an NVIDIA Ion GPU paired with an Atom N270 packed inside. We're also seeing a 3G card in there, although it's unclear whether it'll be active or installed at launch -- we've been told the 3G version won't be ready until sometime later this year, but things have been changing fast, so that may be in flux as well. There's also a picture showing it running Windows, but we're assuming that's just for testing purposes -- we'd also bet it'd be an easy little hack. But back to Ion for a second: our experience with first-gen Ion netbooks has been one of decreased performance and drastically reduced battery life, so we're very curious to see how the JooJoo holds up compared to modern netbooks running Intel's Pine Trail chips and NVIDIA's Optimus-based Ion 2. We'll see -- it's supposed to ship in just a few weeks. Two more pics after the break. P.S.- Oh, and Fusion Garage got back to us yesterday with a list of supported local video formats, and it's pretty decent: AVI, MPEG-4, MOV, WMV and WMA, FLV (Flash Video), VOB, OGG, OGM and OGV, MKV (Mastroska), DiVX and XViD. We'll see how the battery holds up, though -- our very own Joanna Stern predicts a best case of 3.5 hours with WiFi on and a video playback time of two hours.
JooJoo revamps interface ahead of launch, adds local video playback -- and changes color
The JooJoo tablet's launch date might have been pushed back a month while Fusion Garage sorts out issues with the capacitive touchscreen, but it looks like the extra time has given the company a chance to tweak the interface and add in some features. Obviously the most noticable change is the revised homescreen, which has gone from line art on a garish solid color background to a nicely rendered icon grid over a high-res customizable wallpaper, but Fusion Garage has also ditched the confusing pinch-to-go-back gesture and replaced it with a vertical swipe that brings down a status bar containing the home button, status indicators, browser navigation controls, and a combination address bar / search field. Scroll behavior has been revised as well, with two separate behaviors: a two-finger scroll that works like a scroll wheel, and a single finger "pan" that works like a mouse arrow. That's so you can move around sites like Google Maps, which have different interface elements mapped to each control -- CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan pointed out to us that devices like the iPhone avoid the issue by using dedicated apps, but Fusion Garage wants to deliver the "full web experience." It's an interesting solution and a clever spin on things, but we're waiting to try it out for real before we pass any judgment. What else? The text-entry situation has been improved: there's now both a smaller keyboard designed for one-handed operation that can be moved around the screen so it doesn't obscure content, and a full-screen multitouch keyboard that does chording so it recognizes more than one key at a time. There's no auto-correction or prediction, though. Flash is now fully working, and YouTube videos can either be played back using Flash or the custom H.264 HD breakout player we've already seen; that player supports a range of codecs and can also be used to play videos stored on a USB thumb drive. And finally, and perhaps most oddly, the JooJoo has changed colors. Instead of black, the back casing is now a "champagne" color, a picture of which you can see below -- Chandra told us that unhappy preorder customers can just have their $499 refunded if they desperately wanted black instead. All we desperately want to do is get a review unit and tell you what the JooJoo is actually like to use -- if all of these promises hold up, it could be very intriguing indeed. %Gallery-87925%
JooJoo ship date pushed to March 25 due to manufacturing issues
Well, that didn't take too long. Just a day after we pondered the shipping status of Fusion Garage's JooJoo tablet, the company's come clean and told us shipping will delayed to March 25 because of a manufacturing issue with the tablet's 12.1-inch capacitive screen. Yep, it looks like it's going to be at least 27 more days until you've got a JooJoo of your very own -- which means, of course, that Fusion Garage will now be trying to launch this thing during the same week Apple's scheduled to launch the iPad. Ouch. To its credit, Fusion Garage says it's not happy with the delay and has promised a free accessory to pre-order customers to make it better -- we're told it's likely to be the $30 stand. We'll see if that's enough to hold back the effects of Cupertino's coming media blitz, but either way we're quite excited about making a tablet sandwich at the end of March. Full PR after the break.
It's the end of February, where's your JooJoo?
Call us optimistic, but we pictured February 25th rolling around with us laying on a couch and watching some Olympic ice dancing clips on the JooJoo's 12-inch screen. Ah, but here we are about to cross off the last few days of the month and the only thing we've got in our hands are some tissues and hot cocoa. Promising to ship units to those who pre-ordered in December within 8-10 weeks, Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan told us just a month ago that it was on track to ship before the end of February. However, when we called them up to see what the deal was we were told they'd have a shipping update for us by the first week in March. Additionally, when asked if there were delays with production or shipping the first units to customers we got the never fun "no comment." We're going to go ahead and assume there's been some sort of delay -- perhaps JooJoo primary investor CSL has been too busy updating the BlueBerrry KIRF line with an optical pad to write out the check for the manufacturing costs. Okay, that's unlikely, but we'd love to hear if any of those that pre-ordered have heard differently or anything at all.
Engadget Podcast 182 - 02.07.2010
What do three bloggers huddled around microphones in frigid locales across the country have on 22 of America's beefiest athletes gathered on the field in Miami? An iPhone app. Oh, actually, no. But Josh Tops, Nilz, and P-Mill most certainly comprise the universe's largest repository of JooJoo insight. That's worth something, right?Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul MillerProducer: Trent WolbeSong: Disco Rehab - KidsHear the podcast01:22 - Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch (updated with video!)05:00 - Motorola Droid gets official multitouch support -- in Google Maps, anyway14:34 - Nook firmware 1.2 ready for download now (Update: video!)20:05 - Joojoo tablet now in production, will support full Flash at launch30:15 - Acer not making a tablet, will focus on ultra-thin laptops42:20 - Former Microsoft VP Dick Brass weighs in on why Microsoft 'no longer brings us the future'45:00 - Microsoft responds to Dick Brass: 'We measure our work by its broad impact'48:20 - Steve Jobs compares iPad battery life to Kindle's: 'You're not going to read for 10 hours' (video)48:30 - Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon48:35 - Amazon pulled Macmillan titles due to price conflict -- confirmed (update: they're back!)51:45 - Verizon advertising says Droid is for men, Pre is for women (video)58:09 - We're turning comments off for a bit59:00 - Commenting on Engadget: a human's guide Subscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Joojoo tablet now in production, will support full Flash at launch
That other tablet that was announced just a week ago sure doesn't seem to be setting Fusion Garage's Joojoo off course. Not only did it see an increase in orders after the iPad announcement, but Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishna just told us that production of the 12-inch tablet has kicked off and that the product is on target to start shipping this month. And it doesn't sound like legal fees from fighting the TechCrunch lawsuit over the product are depleting Fusion Garage's bank account: Chandra told us it's teamed up with OEM CSL Group of Malaysia, which will be footing the bill for manufacturing in exchange for a "low single-digit" percentage of product revenue. We have our doubts about the math, but we'll see how happy everyone is if and when the Joojoo starts shipping. (We'll also see if James Cameron notices that Fusion Garage keeps using unlicensed Avatar images in its promo pictures.) Chandra still wouldn't budge on revealing what's powering the device, but he was more than happy to confirm that the tablet will support full Flash at launch, and HD Flash content once Flash 10.1 is officially released -- YouTube HD will play right now using a separate player plugin that takes advantage of GPU acceleration. "We have a bigger 'app store' than Apple because we have the full Internet," he told us. Nevertheless, Fusion plans to launch a "web store" that will allow people to find web applications on the Joojoo. Speaking of Apple, Chandra was quite blunt about the iPad: "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery." No really -- he told us everything from Steve Jobs calling the iPad a "magical product" to the couch being on stage during the keynote to the $499 price point was a nod to the Joojoo, since "juju" is an African word for "magical" and the Joojoo was positioned as a couch computer when it launched in November. Uh, sure. Trash talking aside, we're very excited to see what this thing can do -- a 16:9 720p tablet that can play Hulu sounds pretty interesting to us. Check the full press release after the break.
Fusion Garage files to dismiss CrunchPad lawsuit
It looks like Fusion Garage is out to remind people that there's more than one $499 tablet in the world today: CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan is talking up the Joojoo tablet's pre-orders, and the company's lawyers have filed a delightfully snippy motion to dismiss TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington's lawsuit over the device formerly known as CrunchPad, saying his claims are "legally barred, facially flawed, and fatally imprecise." As we predicted from the outset, the argument boils down to the fact that there was never any contract between Fusion Garage and Michael Arrington or TechCrunch -- and Fusion Garage also points out it can't have stolen an idea that Arrington posted "all over the Internet." Snap. It's a little more complicated than that, though -- we've broken it down after the break, grab the PDF and follow along.
Fusion Garage says Joojoo pre-orders went up after iPad announcement, new funding on the way
FusionGarage may have thrown a few PayPal rules to the wind with its early Joojoo pre-orders, but it looks like they may have paid off for the company (assuming they actually go through). In an interview with SGEntrepreneurs, Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan says that orders for the device actually went up following Apple's iPad announcement, although he unsurprisingly didn't reveal any actual numbers. Chandra did drop a few other interesting details, however, including word that the company with soon announce a partnership with a "major mobile phone player" that has a "significant" market share in Southeast Asia, and who will also supposedly take care of the manufacturing cost of the Joojoo. That's on top of an announcement of a new round of funding, which apparently totals somewhere south of $10 million. Still no word of a firm ship date for the device, of course, which still stands at the same 8-10 weeks that it did more than a month ago. [Thanks, Daniel]
Joojoo terms of sale violate PayPal rules
It would seem that the Fusion Garage lawyers have become so embroiled in the Michael Arrington litigation that they've neglected to read the PayPal User Agreement. There in section II, subsection 4, dubbed "Prohibited Transactions," it states that the seller agrees "not to use [his] PayPal account to sell goods with delivery dates delayed more than 20 days from the date of payment." Why does that matter -- well, because the sole means to purchase the Joojoo at present is by placing an 8 to 10 week pre-order, payable exclusively through PayPal. We shouldn't jump to conclusions though -- maybe Fusion Garage freed itself from the pesky rules by offering to sell a few special edition PayPads?
Joojoo tablet gets its first batch of press shots, $30 dock accessory
Up until now, the only official shot of the Joojoo tablet was that seductive snippet of the corner. 'Course, you got a pretty good look of the thing if you bothered to watch our sit-down with Fusion Garage's Chandra Rathakrishnan, but it's still a pleasing sight to see the company push out a nice gallery of press shots to really tickle the senses. We aren't exactly sure if these guys have Cameron's approval to use Avatar screen shots to promote their product, but at this point, we wouldn't put anything regarding the Joojoo beyond the realm of feasibility. Oh, and if you were wondering how you'd eventually use this thing as an at-home movie viewer, the $29.99 dock accessory pictured above is the answer. One word of caution, however: given all the drama surrounding this thing, use that pre-order button at your own risk. P.S. - Our good pal Chippy is suggesting that the only possible CPU / GPU tandem that could result in the claimed 1080p support and 5 hours of battery life is the Atom Z530 and the GMA500, both from Intel. Hopefully we'll hear something official in short order. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] %Gallery-80151%
Engadget talks Joojoo, Arrington, 3G, and more with Fusion Garage's Chandra Rathakrishnan
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!
TechCrunch sues Fusion Garage over the Joojoo -- we break it down
Okay, well here we go. Michael Arrington says he filed a lawsuit yesterday against Fusion Garage over the CrunchPad / Joojoo situation, and he's helpfully provided a copy of the complaint, which alleges false advertising, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of business ideas, fraud, and unlawful business practices. You'll notice that list doesn't include any breach of contract or intellectual property claims -- a fair departure from what Michael said he'd be suing over, but not entirely surprising since it doesn't seem like there was any contract here at all. Let's take a quick skim through the rest of the complaint, shall we?
