CrunchPad dead? Delayed by higher-than-expected costs? • Hacker News Board

Re: CrunchPad dead? Delayed by higher-than-expected costs?

#11

Post by noonespecial » Wed, Nov 04, 2009, 11:49 PM UTC

Its probably the same old "made in china" story most people face trying to get stuff built there. They'll promise you a rocket ship to the moon for $20 the first day, but the more you invest yourself in the project, the more the price will go up.

At a company I worked for once, we called it "the ransom". This was the extra money the supplier would demand at the very end for "unforeseen costs" to release your completed units.

In china, the signed contract is just the beginning of negotiations. You're not done until the completed devices are in your warehouse in the US.

Re: CrunchPad dead? Delayed by higher-than-expected costs?

#12

Post by steve_mobs » Thu, Nov 05, 2009, 2:49 AM UTC

I actually think the crunchpad will fail, but the only cool thing about it is the possibility of a launch party. The valley needs more parties in general.

Re: CrunchPad dead? Delayed by higher-than-expected costs?

#13

Post by astine » Thu, Nov 05, 2009, 3:04 AM UTC

petesalty wrote: post #9

astine wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that it's too heavy to hold up as that would defeat the purpose. I imagine that a device like this would be more pleasant to keep in your lap as you browse the Internet or such then a traditional laptop. Plus, you could always mount it on a mechanical arm or on the wall. I can imagine having such a device hanging in my kitchen, so I could check my email, or look up recipes while cooking.

With it in your lap, flat, your head tilts down, bending the neck. This puts strain on the muscles at the base of the neck, which tires them. The muscles under the shoulder blades will then step in to try and compensate, tiring them, etc., etc. This is why it's uncomfortable to to read, sitting up, with a book lying flat on your lap. With a laptop the screen juts up at an angle from the lap (~45 degrees) which allows…

This is why it's uncomfortable to to read, sitting up, with a book lying flat on your lap.

Who reads like that? I was imagining sitting in a recliner and holding it like a newspaper. If it's light enough, that would work.

Re: CrunchPad dead? Delayed by higher-than-expected costs?

#14

Post by ErrantX » Thu, Nov 05, 2009, 9:42 AM UTC

alaskamiller wrote: post #10

ErrantX wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is actually the worst news I've heard about it. :( Waiting for Chome OS? A risk if the rumors of the Apple Tablet are true. $1M+TC money.. but how MUCH TC money - and still no product; that's a worry. Essentially he's saying I've spent more than $1M on technology that I don't want to use anymore and I am waiting for Google "vapour ware" to materialise to use on the new one.

$1M+ to me means one million and more.

Yeh I couldnt figure on that; how MUCH is the +TC money. It could be 100,000 or another million... it has to be the latter surely.

Re: CrunchPad dead? Delayed by higher-than-expected costs?

#15

Post by david927 » Thu, Nov 05, 2009, 12:04 PM UTC

vicaya wrote: post #4

Unlikely. Michael spoke before a small group of people less than a month ago, when I asked about CrunchPad. He said that it's coming along and that "Atom sucks." So, he's probably waiting for Chrome OS running on the new ARM processor (Cortex A9?) He mentioned that he has sunk $1M+ TC money in the project. I'd love a bookpad that has two screens that fold together like a book. One screen is LCD that can serve as keyb…

I'd love a bookpad that has two screens that fold together like a book. One screen is LCD that can serve as keyboard/(multi)touchpad/video screen and the other e-ink screen for reading books.

That's brilliant. The right-side touch, left-side color Kindle? Wicked!

Microsoft's Courier folds like a book and looks pretty cool: http://gizmodo.com/5381011/microsoft-couriers-swipes-snips-a...