Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 4th Feb 2010 23:41 UTC
PDAs, Cellphones, Wireless Finally something we can work with. While both the iPad and the Joo Joo are technically still vapourware, people have at least had the opportunity to play with the former, while the latter remained somewhat illusive. Now that the device has been set to ship at the end of this month, Ars Technica finally had some time to play with the Joo Joo and talk to Fusion Garage's CEO, Chandra Rathakrishnan. There's good news, and there's (potentially) bad news.
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How is it better than the iPad
by sultanqasim on Fri 5th Feb 2010 00:06 UTC
sultanqasim
Member since:
2006-10-28

It does have a bigger screen, making room for more pixels (at the same density), and it does have a camera. However, it is bulkier and heavier than the iPad, has not 802.11n, no 3G, tiny 4GB internal memory, half the battery life, and worst of all is completely dependent on the internet and web apps. Want music? It must be streamed from the net. Want to read things? Must be read from websites only. Want to make documents? Only dumbed down web office suites allowed. Want to use it outside a WiFi hotspot? Sorry, you can't.

The iPad is somewhat crippled software wise, but this is just completely useless in comparison. Why would you prefer a Joo Joo Thom?

Edited 2010-02-05 00:07 UTC

Reply Score: 6

RE: How is it better than the iPad
by kragil on Fri 5th Feb 2010 00:24 UTC in reply to "How is it better than the iPad"
kragil Member since:
2006-01-04

Maybe because he will actually own the device and can put any flavor of OS he desires on it.

This is OSnews after all.

PS. It still sucks, just not as bad as the Ipad. I want ARM and Pixel Qi.

Reply Score: 5

memson Member since:
2006-01-01

Has it actually been proven that the OS is replaceable on the Joojoo?

Reply Score: 1

darknexus Member since:
2008-07-15

Maybe because he will actually own the device and can put any flavor of OS he desires on it.

This is OSnews after all.


And you know this will be possible... how? Some people read the word "Linux" and automatically jump to the conclusion that it is a completely open device. Didn't Tivo and Android teach us anything? Just having a Linux-based os is no guarantee of openness.
If it is open, all well and good. If not, it'sa whole lot less useful than the iPad would be, and I'm not too big on the iPad myself.
Reply Score: 2

Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

And you know this will be possible... how? Some people read the word "Linux" and automatically jump to the conclusion that it is a completely open device. Didn't Tivo and Android teach us anything? Just having a Linux-based os is no guarantee of openness.
If it is open, all well and good. If not, it'sa whole lot less useful than the iPad would be, and I'm not too big on the iPad myself.


Did you read the article, at all? It's clearly stated that IF the Joo Joo is open. IF.

IF.
Reply Score: 3

kragil Member since:
2006-01-04

I think it is a safe bet. That small company had enough trouble with the touchscreen and the UI software. I am sure that they haven't strayed from your standard Atom ref design, which is totally supported by Linux and you will not have to jailbreak anything.

I am willing to take bets on that one. Any takers?

Reply Score: 4

Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

I think it's ARM.

EDIT: Oh, apparently, Gizmodo once saw it POST, and claim it's Atom. Huh.

Edited 2010-02-05 00:55 UTC

Reply Score: 1

Morty Member since:
2005-07-06

I think it's ARM. EDIT: Oh, apparently, Gizmodo once saw it POST, and claim it's Atom. Huh.

You could have read the Ars Technica you link to, it say x86 Atom processor. And when it was the ChrunchPad, it was reported as Atom based.
Reply Score: 4

Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

I think they added that later. Didn't see it when reading.

Reply Score: 1

Morty Member since:
2005-07-06

I am sure that they haven't strayed from your standard Atom ref design,

Reasonable asumption, it's aparently based on licenced IP. From Pegatron, the manufacturing part of Asus.
Reply Score: 2

Bobthearch Member since:
2006-01-27

PS. It still sucks, just not as bad as the Ipad. I want ARM and Pixel Qi.

Based on the ~reported~ specs, features, and pricing I'd say the JooJoo sucks even more than the iPad.
Reply Score: 6

Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

The iPad is somewhat crippled software wise, but this is just completely useless in comparison. Why would you prefer a Joo Joo Thom?


Another one incapable of reading.

As the article states remarkably clearly: if I can extend the functionality - i.e., the device is open, contrary to the iPad's illegal-to-hack - then yes, I'd MUCH rather have the Joo Joo. Hack SAMBA access to it, and it'll have access to all the data I have. I'll be able to add codec support, remove stuff I don't need, and so on. It'd be one heck of an entertainment machine.

I'd not take it on the road - I mean, I have a real computer for that (a netbook).

But, as I said, the tablet concept in and itself is a hard sell at this point. There is no tablet market. Nobody knows if this stuff will sell, and I'd probably not buy one anyway. however, if you make me choose, then yes, IF the device is "open", then I'd certainly go for the Joo Joo.

And put a sticker over the name tag, of course. Because dear lord, what a retarded name.

Edited 2010-02-05 00:49 UTC
Reply Score: 2

sultanqasim Member since:
2006-10-28

Even if it is hackable, the Joo Joo is still pretty useless. One cannot expect a big ecosystem of polished hacks to be available for it, so even hacked extensions (such as samba and codecs) will probably just make the device unstable and slow.

At least for now, it's not 'illegal' to 'hack' your own device as long as it doesn't infringe on others property (i.e. don't hack on pirated sofware). Even if the Joo Joo is hackable, it'll still be less useful than an iPad. Don't expect hacks to be polished like the iTunes app in the iPod and don't expect major commercial vendors to create hacks for the Joo Joo.

At least the iPad is designed for local storage, can run outside WiFi hotspots, and can do most things netbooks do in a fun touchscreen package. I'd certainly appreciate openness in the iPad, but at least the closed product is more polished and useful than any fringe market Joo Joo hack may become. I don't get why anyone would want a Joo Joo over an iPad, or even justify the $500 price tag even if the iPad didn't exist.

Reply Score: 3

Laurence Member since:
2007-03-26

Even if it is hackable, the Joo Joo is still pretty useless.

Hardly. The whole point of hacking devices like these is to /add/ functionality.
So to say it would still be useless is somewhat pessimistic

One cannot expect a big ecosystem of polished hacks to be available for it,

That's what a community is there for. IF the Joo Joo is hackable, then a community will spring up.

so even hacked extensions (such as samba and codecs) will probably just make the device unstable and slow.

That's a somewhat unfair assumption given how little we know about the device and how good many hacked devices are (eg XBMC on the XBox).

Perhaps you should save that kind of FUD until the device has actually been hacked, let alone released.


At least for now, it's not 'illegal' to 'hack' your own device as long as it doesn't infringe on others property (i.e. don't hack on pirated software). Even if the Joo Joo is hackable, it'll still be less useful than an iPad. Don't expect hacks to be polished like the iTunes app in the iPod and don't expect major commercial vendors to create hacks for the Joo Joo.

Again, you're making huge and unjust assumptions (for the reasons stated above).


At least the iPad is designed for local storage,

The Joo Joo has USB so you can add local storage - even if it's just a pen drive.

can run outside WiFi hotspots,

You're only good point.

and can do most things netbooks do in a fun touch screen package.

So can the Joo Joo.


I'd certainly appreciate openness in the iPad, but at least the closed product is more polished and useful than any fringe market Joo Joo hack may become.

Now you're comparing the corporate release of an integrated OS with a hack project that doesn't exist.
Please at least compare like for like.

I don't get why anyone would want a Joo Joo over an iPad, or even justify the $500 price tag even if the iPad didn't exist.

Because not everybody likes Apple products - and this is something you'll just have to accept.

And, for me, the Joo Joo would work out cheaper as I don't own a Mac and I'm not about to install iTunes on the only Windows install I have (due to it being a streamlined real time system).
So if I want an iPad, then I'd either need to buy a new Mac or buy a new Windows license - either of which would work out more expensive in the long run than buying a Joo Joo.

Edited 2010-02-05 11:44 UTC
Reply Score: 4

red_devel Member since:
2006-03-30

And put a sticker over the name tag, of course. Because dear lord, what a retarded name.


Better watch your mouth Thom, or Sarah Palin will be calling for you to be fired! =P
Reply Score: 2

Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

Better watch your mouth Thom, or Sarah Palin will be calling for you to be fired! =P


You do realise that Sarah Palin is totally hawt, right? She can call for my resignation anytime. Preferably in person.
Reply Score: 1

darknexus Member since:
2008-07-15

You do realise that Sarah Palin is totally hawt, right? She can call for my resignation anytime. Preferably in person.


I dunno, her complete idiocy would detract from that in my experience. Body aside, completely moronic girls annoy me and she's as dumb as they come.
Reply Score: 1

Vapourware?
by memson on Fri 5th Feb 2010 00:30 UTC
memson
Member since:
2006-01-01

Thom, I realise many people on here are down on the iPad, but it is not vapourware by any stretch of the imagination. It has been seen in public and real people have used it in informal settings. It has an SDK with a simulator. It has an entire OS revision (3.2) that is specifically geared towards it at the moment (and iPhones have no 3.2 at all..) It would be vapourware if Steve Jobs had mentioned it, held up a non working prototype and showed a concept video.

The Joojoo on the other hand, is still quite an enigma, which I would consider bordering on vapourware.

By all means, if Apple don't ever release an iPad, please feel free to call me out, but that would be a pretty unlikely turn of events.

If the Joojoo actually makes it to market in any great volumes and makes any kind of impact past novelty Geek toy, I'll be pretty amazed.

Reply Score: 4

RE: Vapourware?
by Thom_Holwerda on Fri 5th Feb 2010 00:39 UTC in reply to "Vapourware?"
Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

"Technically still vapourware" is what I wrote. Notice the technically: we have no products. We can't buy them. We can't test them. We have no idea if EITHER of them are ready.

So yes, technically, they are still vapourware.

Reply Score: 1

RE[2]: Vapourware?
by MamiyaOtaru on Fri 5th Feb 2010 04:29 UTC in reply to "RE: Vapourware?"
MamiyaOtaru Member since:
2005-11-11

Well sure, if you want to redefine vaporware. It's always carried a connotation of late to extremely late to unlikely to ever come out. "Not released yet" does not mean vaporware.

Wikipedia is terrible at times, but I don't disagree with them in this:

Vaporware describes a product, usually software, that has been announced by a developer during or before its development, if there is significant doubt whether the product will actually be released.[1] The term is usually applied to products which fail to emerge after having well-exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product, or when the release date is delayed repeatedly without adequate evidence of specific unforeseen hurdles that cause these delays.


None of this applies to the iPad, and you look a little petty trying to shoehorn the term in. And from the editor in me: the word is "elusive" ;)
Reply Score: 4

Doubt I'd ever get one
by darknexus on Fri 5th Feb 2010 00:43 UTC
darknexus
Member since:
2008-07-15

I can't stand that name, Joo Joo. Seriously, what were they thinking... or maybe more to the point, what were they smoking? It sounds like a toy or some type of candy. I doubt I'd ever be able to talk about it with a straight face.

Reply Score: 3

RE: Doubt I'd ever get one
by kragil on Fri 5th Feb 2010 01:22 UTC in reply to "Doubt I'd ever get one"
kragil Member since:
2006-01-04

Like Ipad and Wii?

Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Doubt I'd ever get one
by darknexus on Fri 5th Feb 2010 01:33 UTC in reply to "RE: Doubt I'd ever get one"
darknexus Member since:
2008-07-15

Well, I don't own nor plan to own a Wii or an iPad either. I agree about the Wii, at least iPad (while stupid and unoriginal) makes a sort of Apple sense, the iEverything line. It just doesn't sound as comical, somehow. Too bad Apple won't come out with a vacuum cleaner, the iSuck. Now, that'd be even funnier than Joo Joo.

Reply Score: 2

Bill Shooter of Bul Member since:
2006-07-14

I totally forgot how bad the joojoo name was after the iPad was announced. joojoo just sounds stupid, but not "oh my dear lord, why didn't a woman tell them not to name it that", bad. I mean, the jokes wrote themselves years ago *before* the product was conceived. But yeah, joojoo as a name sucks. I think I've been pretty consistent about expressing my displeasure for both devices, and I'll stick to that.

They both suck, can we talk about some Operating Systems now? Or at least yell at intel for their confusing as hell processor feature support?

Reply Score: 2

StephenBeDoper Member since:
2005-07-06

I mean, the jokes wrote themselves years ago *before* the product was conceived.


Literally:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx449r1vhos
Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Doubt I'd ever get one
by StephenBeDoper on Fri 5th Feb 2010 21:14 UTC in reply to "RE: Doubt I'd ever get one"
StephenBeDoper Member since:
2005-07-06

Like Ipad and Wii?


Or Twitter... hard to take a company/service seriously when "twit" is the first thing that comes to mind as a singular noun for the service (and its users).

Edited 2010-02-05 21:23 UTC
Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Doubt I'd ever get one
by nt_jerkface on Fri 5th Feb 2010 23:04 UTC in reply to "RE: Doubt I'd ever get one"
nt_jerkface Member since:
2009-08-26

Yes, awful names, all of them.

Reply Score: 2

Fusion garage:
by tylerdurden on Fri 5th Feb 2010 03:53 UTC
tylerdurden
Member since:
2009-03-17

The issue is not the size of the market they (fusion garage) are entering, but the size of the player they are going against.

The argument seems to be a red herring addressed to an unasked question. Unless they were trying to assure their investors that the market is big enough to afford them to subsist as a nice player.

Edited 2010-02-05 03:54 UTC

Reply Score: 2

Comment by Nycran
by Nycran on Fri 5th Feb 2010 05:37 UTC
Nycran
Member since:
2006-02-06

Who wouldn't want to support a company that is a "nice player"? :-)

I hope this company is successful as I don't want a tablet monopoly. Let's see OSX tablets, Android tablets, Windows 7 tablets, Chrome OS tables, ubuntu tablets and WebOS tablets. The more choice there is the better off we'll all be.

In the end what we really don't want is any one company being the sole significant distributer of electronic books, magazines and papers.

Reply Score: 1

RE: Comment by Nycran
by tylerdurden on Fri 5th Feb 2010 06:17 UTC in reply to "Comment by Nycran"
tylerdurden Member since:
2009-03-17

Wooops "nice" -> "niche"

Well, unfortunately most customers don't tend to apply charitable ends as part of their purchase-making decision process.

If anyone is going to challenge apple in the tablet arena, it will probably be another big player. Unfortunately the success/failure of these devices may depend upon the volume of content and its distribution model. And just the hw/sw combo, and the quality of it, may not be enough to combine customers. And I am sure content publishers are not going to offer good deals or even support niche platforms. Oh, well...

Reply Score: 2

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