Technology blog, TechCrunch, introduced the second prototype of its low cost touch screen web tablet today, named the CrunchPad.  The device began development 6 months ago after TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington wanted a "dead simple and dirt cheap touch screen web tablet to surf the web" and found that no company was developing such a device.  TechCrunch reached out to its community and 6 months later has the second working prototype to show.

 

 

CrunchPad's Purpose

The CrunchPad's purpose is different from that of a smart phone, tablet PC, laptop, or netbook.  Even with the advancements of the netbook in the past 6 months, they still aim to emulate the same workflow experience as a laptop, but in a sleeker, more mobile platform.  The CrunchPad aims to serve a different role, as Arrington explains:

"Here’s the basic idea: The machine is as thin as possible, runs low end hardware and has a single button for powering it on and off, headphone jacks, a built in camera for video, low end speakers, and a microphone. It will have Wifi, maybe one USB port, a built in battery, half a Gigabyte of RAM, a 4-Gigabyte solid state hard drive. Data input is primarily through an iPhone-like touch screen keyboard. It runs on linux and Firefox. It would be great to have it be built entirely on open source hardware, but including Skype for VOIP and video calls may be a nice touch, too.

If all you are doing is running Firefox and Skype, you don’t need a lot of hardware horsepower, which will keep the cost way down."

 

How You Use CrunchPad

Arrington provides an example usage scenario for the CrunchPad:

"The idea is to get a new type of device into people’s hands for as cheap as possible (we were aiming for $200, it looks like $299 is more realistic). It fits perfectly on your lap while you are sitting in front of the TV, so you can look up stuff on Wikipedia or IMDB as you channel surf. It plays Flash video flawlessly so you can watch movies and TV shows on Hulu or Joost or wherever. Or listen to music on MySpace Music. Or use TokBox to have a video chat with your parents. Then check email and call it a day. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Hulu, Wikipedia, Google Docs and Gmail are the killer apps for this device.

Because the device skips the resource-sucking parts of the operating system and focuses on one application - the browser - very low end hardware can be used and still give users a desktop-like Internet browsing experience."

 

CrunchPad Specs

By constraining the device to browser-only functionality, TechCrunch was able to develop the CrunchPad on low cost hardware.  Detailed specifications are currently:

• 12-inch touchscreen with a 4:3 aspect ratio (idea for web browsing says TechCrunch)
• Single-point touchscreen (multi-touch increases cost and unneeded (no zooming necessary))
• Via Nano processor (has performed on par with Intel Atom says TechCrunch)
• 1 GB of ram (TechCrunch says its more than they need)
• 4 GB flash drive (To store the OS and browser and any cache)
• 1024×768 resolution (for full-screen browsing on most websites without scrolling)
• Wifi
• Accelerometer (for turning CrunchPad & viewing more of a webpage)
• VGA Camera
• 4-Cell Battery (no testing on battery life done yet)
• Dimensions: 12.5″ x 9.7″ x 1.3″ (TechCrunch says it can cut this in half with further engineering)
• Weight: 3 lbs (2 oz. lighter than 10″ eeePC netbook, TechCrunch says extra batteries added for testing increased the weight as well)
• Software: Full install of Ubuntu Linux on the prototype with a custom Webkit browser (TechCrunch says they will be "stipping linux down to its core in the next internal release" to improve speed/decrease resources needed & improve battery life)
• Ports: Power, Headset, 1 usb (for plugging in external keyboard if needed)
• Boot time: 10 seconds from cold boot

 

      The display & ethernet port seen in this CrunchPad prototype will be gone, says Arrington. Power, headphone jack, and 1 USB for external keyboard will be all you need.

CrunchPad User Interface Experience

The CrunchPad aims to act as your web portal device, using a kiosk-like home screen that provides streamlined navigation for the user. 

"The idea is to turn it on, bypass any desktop interface, and go directly to Firefox running in a modified Kiosk mode that effectively turns the browser into the operating system for the device. Add Gears for offline syncing of Google docs, email, etc., and Skype for communication and you have a machine that will be almost as useful as a desktop but cheaper and more portable than any laptop or tablet PC.

It will also include a custom default home page with large buttons for bookmarked services - news, Meebo/Ebuddy for IM, Google Docs/Zoho for Office, Email, social networks, photo sites, YouTube, etc. Everything that you use every day."

 Much of the software work thus far has gone towards development of drivers and the touchscreen keyboard, seen above.

CrunchPad, Shipping Soon?

After 6 months of development, the CrunchPad is in its second working prototype, but TechCrunch says they are unsure if the product has enough legs to send into production.  Silly, it seems, as they note the thousands of comments and emails from people who want this device right now" and quite a bit of interest from the investment community", not to mention a near monopoly on a market niche no one is currently filling. 

Furthermore, TechCrunch picked up Louis Monier, formerly the founder/CTO of AltaVista, head of Advanced Technology Group at eBay, as well as Google and Cuil. Louis left Cuil in the Fall and has been spending his spare time working with outside teams to build the new prototype, and TechCrunch says he is "in love with the project".

Arrington believes they need a company with deep pockets and expertise in the consumer product market to take CrunchPad from the prototype stage to production, funding the expensive engineering and design needed at this point. 

"Although it’s not like we’ve been secretive about the project, and readers have been pretty vocal about “want one.”

Arrington says he is skeptical, however, about the prospects of finding such a company:

"I’m not sure the big guys can psychologically get away from the OS as the center of attention or the lack of a keyboard."

Seems to me TechCrunch has a homerun here, and if they don't act fast to get units into production, some other aspiring entrepreneur surely will.

 

Missing Killer Feature

One missing killer feature I suggest they add is a 3G chip.  Recent netbooks such as the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 are building 3G Chips in, allowing users to simply pop in a SIM card or tether a device via bluetooth to get 3G speeds on your netbook. 

Considering the astronomical $30/month I'm already paying AT&T for my data plan, I would like to get all the value I can out of, and the ability to use my CrunchPad anywhere via 3G is priceless.

 

HD Video?

2009 is officially the year of video, and HD video no less.  With YouTube introducing HD video, everyone will soon follow.  Once viewers begin to see the shinyness of HD, they will refuse to turn back. 

A big part of the CrunchPad is the ability to watch video on YouTube or your shows on Hulu.  But can it handle HD?  Even netbooks are going HD.  I worry because the CrunchPad was developed on low-cost hardware, it won't be able to handle HD.  This could be a critical missing feature that will plague the device's success as HD continues to grow in adoption/popularity/integration with every other device available. 

YouTube & Hulu were shown streaming on CrunchPad, but questions remain as to if it can handle increasinly prevelent HD video.

Final Thoughts

The idea is sound, the demand is great, and the product is almost there.  TechCrunch has really shown the power of semi-crowdsourcing a product idea from conception, to near completion in the modern era.  Rapid prototyping has made this really possible, and it shows that in 6 months time, anyone can become the next Apple.  All it takes is a great idea.