Fablet: FireFox + Tablet.  The $200 device Mike Arrington & Co wants to build:

We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet For $200. Help Us Build It.

I can’t figure out if this is real or a joke.. but we’re far from April Fool’s Day.smile_angel

I have a strong Deja Vu feeling though.   Last year I shared a Bloggers’ table with Ismael Ghalimi at a conference and watched him feverishly work away on the Redux Model 1.  He showed me some of the documentation, in a matter of a few hours exchanged specs then placed an order with component suppliers – the guy was totally obsessed.  As skeptical as I had been before, I started to wonder if he might just be able to pull it off – his energy level was just radiating…

But in the end, all the effort (and quite some money Ismael spent along the way) came down to nothing (at least for now): The Office 2.0 Conference gadget will be an HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.

That said, the Redux Model 1 was one guy’s heroic effort, while this project will largely be crowdsourced.  Still, the hardware business is tough … I have one advice to Mike: talk to Ismael.

Update:  It is not a joke:

The reason why we announced today is because we have the manufacturing/prototype etc. setup now, along with design (which we will also post for feedback etc.)

Update (7/23): Two days later, here’s the commentary from Ismael: Where is the Redux Model 1?

Tags: , , , , , , , ,



Reader's Comments

  1. Ben Kepes | July 21st, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    i want one!

    Reply to this comment
  2. Zoli Erdos | July 21st, 2008 at 4:07 pm

    Oh, me too, only question is who delivers it and when:-)

    Reply to this comment
  3. Ben Kepes | July 21st, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    One other – how much????

    Reply to this comment
  4. Zoli Erdos | July 21st, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    Hey, the 2 part is firm, just how many 0’s? :-)

    Reply to this comment
  5. Ben Kepes | July 21st, 2008 at 4:11 pm

    spoken like a true enterprise veteran!

    Reply to this comment
  6. Roland Hesz | July 21st, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    Seems like a nice thing, I like it a lot. :)
    Well, as long as the number of zeros stay below 0 – or, in case it climbs to 4, you change the USD to HUF :)

    Reply to this comment
  7. Roland Hesz | July 21st, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    Number of zeros stays below 3. Doh. Although, 2 dollar price would be awesome:D

    Reply to this comment
  8. Jeremiah Owyang | July 22nd, 2008 at 6:28 am

    did you say fablet?

    Reply to this comment
  9. Zoli Erdos | July 22nd, 2008 at 6:40 am

    Yes, indeed. A Fabulous combination of Firefox + Tablet :-)

    Reply to this comment
  10. Zoli Erdos | July 22nd, 2008 at 6:46 pm

    I guess it might just come from Apple with an extra 0 added to the back of the price:-)

    Reply to this comment
  11. CrunchPad: a Netbook Sans Keyboard | CloudAve | January 19th, 2009 at 9:25 am

    [...] admit I was skeptical when Mike Arrington first announced he wanted to build a  lightweight  Web Tablet.  [...]

    Reply to this comment
  12. The CrunchPad is Real. A Sexy Little Situational Device. | CloudAve | April 9th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    [...] a lot better-looking, albeit not as thin as the original sketch.  That said, if this thing is really in the $300 range, I’d love to buy [...]

    Reply to this comment
  13. CrunchPad – It’s Real. Beautiful. I Want One. | Zoli’s Blog | June 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    [...] admit I was skeptical when Mike Arrington first announced he wanted to build a  lightweight  Web Tablet.  [...]

    Reply to this comment
  14. CrunchPad Getting Close to Launch - Now Really Sexy Situational Device. | CloudAve | June 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 pm

    [...] admit I was skeptical when Mike Arrington first announced he wanted to build a  lightweight  Web Tablet.  [...]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment

Theme Tweaker by Unreal