TechCrunch announced a new prototype of their web tablet today called the CrunchPad. It’s much improved from the initial attempt as you can see for yourself from the video embedded below. Michael Arrington suggested in his most recent post that the goal was to produce a tablet for under $200 to $300 that sits on your lap as your watching TV and you use it for web browsing, emailing, and video chatting.
TechCrunch has about 1.7 million subscribed readers and with that many followers, you’re bound to find some loyal readers are overly supportive and would pay almost anything to get their hands on one. As for me, I think they missed the mark and it will fail to be adopted by the mainstream. Perhaps that is not their goal at TC, but why would you want to create something that’s so limited and lacks versatility? Why would I pay $200 to $300 for a internet tablet when I can already get a netbook that can do the same thing and so much more and is compact for on the go use? A 12-inch screen is nice but it’s not what I’d call compact or for mobile use at all. Furthermore, why would you add a touchscreen keyboard when the screen is so large? The virtual keyboard will only ensure that it takes you a good five minutes just to type a single comment.
I think what most people are looking for is a device that bridges the gap between your mobile phone and your laptop that can be access quickly on the go, not a web browsing tablet. To be more specific, how about something lightweight, with a larger screen than a G1 or iPhone but smaller than a 13 inch Macbook, that has WiFi, bluetooth, and a real keyboard (not a virtual keyboard) which will be used primarily for web browsing, reading, and emailing. The most obvious choice would be a mini laptop or netbook like the HP Mini-Note PC and Dell Inspiron Mini 9 or a tablet PC like the HP Pavilion TX2000Z 12.1″ Touch-Screen. However, some of these are kind of bulky, especially the tablet pcs, and some of the prices creep past the $200-$500 range which I think is realistic for what the consumer would pay for a kickass mobile crossover device. Considering there’s already a great number of internet tablets available for under $300 I’m not sure why the CrunchPad would be worth buying at this point.
I’m starting to wonder if Michael Arrington really did enough research to identify what is currently available in this niche market prior to announcing his concept. Could it be that it just started out as an article that got blown out of proportion as TechCrunch fans fueled the fire in a call to action prototype? Or perhaps TechCrunch is just testing the product manufacturing waters to see how willing TC fans are to crowdsourcing concepts and adopting them. Another possibility is that he’s out of touch and doesn’t realize that most people can’t afford, aren’t will to buy, or don’t see the need for a bulky, non-mobile, non-versatile internet tablet that is only intended for use at home in front of your TV between 5 and 10 PM. Why wouldn’t you just pick up your laptop and use it instead Michael? I’m not saying it wouldn’t be a cool product, I’m just saying I can’t see my self buying it given it’s current form. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, Michael Arrington and TC are now up against some really strong competitors that have incredible products already available. As you can see there are plenty of netbooks, readers, and ultra mobile devices to complete against:
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