Comments on: Crunchpad self destructs – will not be released http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/crunchpad-self-destructs-will-not-be-released/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:35:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: pond http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/crunchpad-self-destructs-will-not-be-released/comment-page-1/#comment-1150082 pond Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:59:46 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=33168#comment-1150082 Good concept, but it was very much like the '$100 notebook' that OLPC was trumpeting. Something that came out of the gate with a very low price attached to it, that ended up costing 2, 3 times that low price. And the whole project is imperiled because the visionary is not a good businessman. Here are a couple of things that the CrunchPad team might have pursued in order to make that produce come closer to their original price target, and be cool at the same time: 1. use ARM chips rather than Intel Atom chips. (This would have lengthened playtime, and allowed them to use fewer batteries at the same time, saving on costs as well as weight. ARM chips and associated chipsets also come cheaper than Atom chips with their chipsets.) 2. use a 10" touchscreen rather than insisting on 12" (The larger size was giving them all sorts of problems, as Mr Arrington mentions in his posting.) And for a bonus, 3. use PixelQi screens for out-of-doors surfing in addition to the original 'couch surfing' Mr Arrington envisioned. Good concept, but it was very much like the ‘$100 notebook’ that OLPC was trumpeting. Something that came out of the gate with a very low price attached to it, that ended up costing 2, 3 times that low price. And the whole project is imperiled because the visionary is not a good businessman.

Here are a couple of things that the CrunchPad team might have pursued in order to make that produce come closer to their original price target, and be cool at the same time:

1. use ARM chips rather than Intel Atom chips. (This would have lengthened playtime, and allowed them to use fewer batteries at the same time, saving on costs as well as weight. ARM chips and associated chipsets also come cheaper than Atom chips with their chipsets.)

2. use a 10″ touchscreen rather than insisting on 12″ (The larger size was giving them all sorts of problems, as Mr Arrington mentions in his posting.)

And for a bonus,

3. use PixelQi screens for out-of-doors surfing in addition to the original ‘couch surfing’ Mr Arrington envisioned.

]]> By: Chris Meadows http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/crunchpad-self-destructs-will-not-be-released/comment-page-1/#comment-1150037 Chris Meadows Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:08:09 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=33168#comment-1150037 That <i>is</i> a shame. The Crunchpad looked like a very interesting concept. Well, someone else will probably come up with something similar and bring it out. But TechCrunch will have lost the first mover advantage. That is a shame. The Crunchpad looked like a very interesting concept.

Well, someone else will probably come up with something similar and bring it out. But TechCrunch will have lost the first mover advantage.

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