7 ms·
TechCrunch Tablet makes an early debut
- _bn 18y agoMike, I've got to hand it to ya. That's pretty fuckin tight. You've certainly proved me wrong. You've got talent, a sense of design, and most importantly, alotta balls. This will certainly keep Apple on it's toes.
- TweedHeads 18y agoGoodbye Kindle, we barely knew ya
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- nanexcool 18y agoThey serve different purposes. Reading for extended periods of time on a device such as the Crunchpad, iPhone, LCD, etc., is torture.
- ojilles 18y agoTyping text messages on 9 keys and limited to 160 characters is torture as well. Did work well though. This device probably hits a different sweetspot (more versatile I'd guess) than the Kindle.
- redrobot5050 18y agoWorks != Makes Money. When you "make a profit" you are successful. Twitter has a long way to go before its successful. Thankfully it has patient investors who are allowing it to experiment with a revenue model, because they're convinced its a cash cow. I'm more skeptical of it being the next best thing. Hardware, besides the cue cat, has to sell, and sell well enough that people are making money off the slim margins. TC will know its design is successful when Dell puts out a knock-off tablet for half the price.
- sjs382 18y agoHe didn't mention twitter at all.
- redrobot5050 18y ago>Typing text messages on 9 keys and limited to 160 characters is torture as well. I took this to mean Twitter. As many users of their service originally started out using it to mass-txt their friends.
- sjs382 18y agoIt also says nothing about "mass texting" They're only talking about texting. Not twitter.
- david927 18y agoBut I can't imagine ever buying a Kindle, and I'll most certainly get this device. I'm already reading digital books on my PC or laptop, but I'd prefer to read it on this. In other words, I don't think Kindle will die immediately, but its time is up.
- jerf 18y ago"Reading for extended periods of time on a device such as the Crunchpad, iPhone, LCD, etc., is torture." Your sentence ended too early. You forgot the "for me". I used to read Project Gutenberg ebooks on my Palm Pilot... the Palm Pilot 2. That's a monochrome (effectively) 160x160 screen. I was fine. There's a lot of us who don't mind so much. (I know studies show reading speed drops, but I wonder if it might pick up again if you tested someone using a display like that long enough to get used to it. At any rate, I sure didn't feel slowed down, which is the important thing.) I'd buy this over a Kindle in a heartbeat, though I'm still not going to give up my laptop keyboard so I'm not in the market at all. (But I'm even more not in the market for a Kindle.)
- whacked_new 18y agoI don't understand why it had to be TC to create this device. Its usefulness is blatantly obvious; all Arrington did was list the specs and declare his intention to have it made. To rephrase, why hasn't the industry been able to do this? They are the ones who have made this possible anyhow; it is not very innovative on a technical level; it is obviously a good idea. What took them so long?
- smidwap 18y agoYour thoughts parallel mine. At the very least, if this idea is so brilliant, why can't a company like Dell or Apple begin mass-producing these little tikes? Even with patents and all that legal mumbo-jumbo, I'm sure they could find something to sell. Makes me wonder if this product really will sell, or if the biggies just lost out on an early opportunity.
- rms 18y ago>why can't a company like Dell or Apple begin mass-producing these little tikes? If these tablets sell, they certainly will.
- whacked_new 18y agoI was wondering if big companies were unable to produce these things cost effectively due to tie-ins and bundle deals or whatnot. Oh, perhaps one thing is the requirement to fork a dev team to maintain a niche OS... methinks that's one of the biggest reasons?
- fizx 18y agoThey could be afraid of cannibalizing sales of their more expensive gizmos.
- there 18y ago> it is not very innovative on a technical level seems like an ideal product for a y combinator startup!
- smidwap 18y agoMy ignorance will show here, but I would imagine engineering one of those devices is nothing trivial (duh), let alone something that a small company could afford. I wasn't even aware that TechCrunch developed consumer products. Can someone enlighten me on how a company such as TechCrunch can reasonably expect to design, develop, and sell (they have 2/3 of those down) a tablet (netbook) and profit? There are seemingly high barriers to entry in such a market, are there not? Just curious!
- luckystrike 18y agoJust in case you are not aware about it, here is how this 'venture' started: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/21/we-want-a-dead-simple-web-tablet-help-us-build-it/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/21/we-want-a-dead-simple-w... Updates: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/30/update-on-the-techcrunch-tablet-prototype-a/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/30/update-on-the-techcrunc... http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/19/techcrunch-tablet-update-prototype-b/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/19/techcrunch-tablet-updat...
- akd 18y agoThey use a company called an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer). These companies can, for different prices, do everything from design a tablet PC off a single phone call to simply building something exactly to your CAD drawings. This is why all computers (Dells, HPs, etc, not sure what Apple does) are manufactured by a handful of companies (Solectron, Flextronics) which actually run the Chinese factories.
- c3o 18y agoThis company does the software: http://www.fusiongarage.com/blog/ http://www.fusiongarage.com/blog/
- bodhi 18y agoI'd really like to know how open it will be. Does anyone have any info?
- swaroop 18y agoReminds me of Peek ( http://www.getpeek.com http://www.getpeek.com ) which is a dedicated email device. Looks like one-functionality devices are making a comeback.
- 10ren 18y agoTablets are a great idea. But when tried, they failed. Specifically, what's different this time?
- icey 18y agoIf it's only $200, I would say the price is the big difference.
- 10ren 18y agoThanks. Tablets were comparable in price to laptops, and today's netbooks are around $200, so relative price hasn't changed... with respect to that particular competitive set. But the absolute difference in price might make a difference with respect to other alternatives, especially non-computing ones. That is, new applications, new markets. Are there any? Historically there's only one way to tell (try it).
- TFrancis 18y agoIf it has/can use a pressure sensitive pen, it's the end of the road for Wacom tablets.
- stcredzero 18y agoI don't think so. Not all pressure sensitive touchscreens are created equal. Wacom pays particular attention to details, and there will always be a high-end market for quality tools. (Otherwise, Apple wouldn't still exist, much less the "high end" of Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc...) In particular, artists can be quite finicky.
- wallflower 18y agoI saw a Wacom Cintiq the other day in use. Wow. If you have $2k, it's better than pen and paper http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22i+love+my+wacom+cintiq%22&btnG=Search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22i+love+my+wacom+...
- froo 18y agoI saw a Wacom Cintiq the other day in use. Wow. If you have $2k, it's better than pen and paper As someone who has used both the Cintiq and pen and paper, I prefer the pencil/paper combination for storyboarding and general sketching as you get more feedback (feeling on your fingertips) than with a Cintiq because of the rough vs smooth surface. Don't get me wrong, the Cintiq's are awesome and can allow some amazing tasks to be completed (especially with storyboarding & appropriate software), but often times I feel people need to make a deeper connection with the task at hand that the cintiq's just don't allow in certain creative arts. I guess it's all a case of perspective. Sometimes imperfections are the key to making things special.
- mhb 18y agoElectronic Stylus with Writing Feel patent: http://www.google.com/patents?id=6MceAAAAEBAJ&dq=berkson http://www.google.com/patents?id=6MceAAAAEBAJ&dq=berkson
- socialtistics 18y agoThis is great and I am glad to see TechCrunch making great strides here. In my view the problem with the tablet market has been a combination of high pricing and bad timing. The market for tablets now is increasing though and the benefits can be great. I think many of the naysayers here are thinking there is no way a tablet can replace a laptop or phone for various reasons, but I say that the market for a tablet is not directed at them. A tablet is not meant to be a replacement device, but instead a compliment to your current devices and/or a business tool. Here are some immediate benefits/uses I can think of: 1. Faster boot time (great for presentations, looking something up quick on the internet, inventory management systems, sales professionals) 2. Lightweight compared to laptops (remember cost is a factor here too) 3. No clunky equipment inside, making the lifespan a little longer 4. So the monitor sits wide open and may not be durable. This opens up a market for accessory companies to build durable covers. Both my Blackberry and iPhone have screens that came with no protection, but I was quick to buy covers for them both. 5. Can be mass produced for cheap. Take away experimentation costs and development costs, Arrington has said that the cost to produce will be $200 or less. This makes them accessible to everyone. Before knocking tablets, you must remember that not everyone has a computer on 24x7x365 and easily accessible. Being able to easily check web-based email or surf the web is the entire point of this device. No boot-up, zero to minimal errors, no complex operating system to fight with, the list goes on.
- access_denied 18y agoDo I want to use Emacs with a pen?