Update: See the comment below by Arrington himself.
Editor-in-Chief John Biggs of CrunchGear confirmed that the delay of the CrunchPad is attributed to bugs on the device. That’s not too surprising, we’ve pretty much figured that out by now.
The most surprising element of the post, titled “The coming tablet wars”, is the following from Biggs:
Expect the CrunchPad to be a excellent device for blogging – that’s what Mike made it for – and for web apps. Don’t expect much in the way of media.
Looks like he’s spending too much time writing on CrunchGear and not enough time reading TechCrunch. Back in April when pictures of the second last prototype were released, Michael Arrington said the exact opposite:
The key uses: Internet consumption. The virtual keyboard will make data entry a pain other than for entering credentials, quick searches and maybe light emails. This machine isn’t for data entry. But it is for reading emails and the news, watching videos on Hulu, YouTube, etc., listening to streaming music on MySpace Music and imeem, and doing video chat via tokbox.
Maybe the goal and the target market for the CrunchPad have changed since developers realized they won’t be able to design a 12″ media device for $300. Or maybe Biggs, a gadget enthusiast, has high expectations in terms of HD video output and HDMI jacks.
One thing is certain: you can’t expect a tablet to be your blogging device of choice. Not only is it touchscreen which most people hate typing on for extended periods of time, but the form factor doesn’t allow you to type on it for a while since you’ll be holding it with two hands. Try doing that for 30 minutes for a blog post.
You are so right about that.
My only comment would be that with Win7 and inking, blogging cane be very easily achieved with a tablet.
this is all nonsense. Biggs has the same access to information about the crunchpad that all press has at this point, meaning none. He’ll know more shortly, but right now he’s just speculating.
nvidia Ion and 3g … umm. It’s sound like 150$ more.
Neue Gerüchte ums CrunchPad die sofort von Michael Arrington dementiert werden — CrunchPad-News.de // Sep 27, 2009 at 4:59 am
[...] nicht stimmen. Michael Arrington äußert sich dazu in einem Kommentar zu einem Beitrag auf CrunchPad Fans, in dem er sagt: this is all nonsense. Biggs has the same access to information about the crunchpad [...]
Hey Mike, thanks for stopping by. Please do keep us in the loop from time to time. Thanks.
put4558350,
Thanks for commenting.
There has been no indication that the CrunchPad will come with Nvidia Ion platform.
It simply is an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz.
Maybe Big M decided to go with it…who knows.
-trooper p
@Trooper P
It’s my speculate.
TechCrunch seem to sure about upcoming Apple tablet. thing like view video and 3G is coming.
There is also other web + video out device. Like Zune HD too.
When Nvidia Ion is easy way to get high resolution video and hdmi – GMA950 don’t support HDMI -. It also help render flash video. so yes it’s a cool option to have.
On down side. Nvidia Ion will add cost to device too.
So when crunchpad’s price just jump from between $200-$300 to $399. I think it might be Ion and 3G…who knows.
My thinking on this whole situation, and the reason there hasn’t been any announcement is because they plan to pull an Apple. Here’s our new product, available tomorrow. That would make sense to me, but of course, just speculation.
It is not clear to me whether an Atom N270 running at 1.6 GHz is powerful enough for HD-quality video or Flash without significant assist from the graphics chip. nVidia’s Ion platform should help for HD video, but I have read elsewhere that it does not substantially help with Flash video.
It might be difficult to keep the price at or near the original target while also being able to display video without maxing out the processor. One possible solution is to offer two versions: a standard $250 text-centric version for e-mail, blogging, and text-mainly websites, and a premium $400 video-enabled version with support for web-video, memory expansion, and additional applications.
I am thinking along the lines of Fx, two options. One basic around $199-250, deluxe package $350-450. Cover both ends of the fence and come initially around expected price point, with people spending more to get the “deluxe” version. We’ll see…