CrunchPad Tablet is Dead

After months of speculation the CrunchPad tablet project is dead. Although not a direct competitor to the Microsoft Courier, developers were planning to launch the 12-inch touch screen slate for $300.

At this price, the unit would run Linux and have 4GB of on-board storage. Running Firefox would allow the CrunchPad to browse the web and access streaming video sites such as Hulu.

TechCrunch and Fusion Garage had been jointly developing the project and were planning to demonstrate the product in two weeks. The two companies are now in a legal dispute over intellectual property.

According to TechCrunch:

Bizarrely, we were being notified that we were no longer involved with the project. Our project. Chandra [Fusion Garage CEO] said that based on pressure from his shareholders he had decided to move forward and sell the device directly through Fusion Garage, without our involvement.

Err, what? This is the equivalent of Foxconn, who build the iPhone, notifying Apple a couple of days before launch that they’d be moving ahead and selling the iPhone directly without any involvement from Apple.

TechCrunch claims to own the CrunchPad trademark and jointly own the intellectual property of the product. The company has rejected Fusion Garage's decision and plans legal challenges.

In the meantime, CrunchPad prototypes will gather dust.