CrunchPad Renamed "JooJoo", To Launch This Friday∞
The article states that the Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan (CEO of Fusion Garage) held a video conference to share his side of the story, but never goes on to explain exactly his side entails other. The only (extremely vague) quote that even attempts to explain why they’re selling this independent of CrunchPad is this:
Unfortunately, Michael was unable to deliver. Michael was completely unable to deliver.
That’s nice and all, but I’m not just going to take your word for it. The whole article reads like Fusion Garage propaganda. Based on what I know so far about this whole debacle, I hope really Fusion Garage gets seriously fucked in court.
The End Of The CrunchPad∞
Apparently it was only a couple days from being released when Fusion Garage (the manufacturer with whom they share the intellectual property) decided that they’d rather release it without TechCrunch. From the email sent to Michael Arrington:
We still acknowledge that Arrington and TechCrunch bring some value to your business endeavor…If he agrees to our terms, we would have Arrington assume the role of visionary/evangelist/marketing head and Fusion Garage would acquire the rights to use the Crunchpad brand and name. Personally, I don’t think the name is all that important but you seem to be somewhat attached to the name
So Michael Arrington—the one who thought this whole thing up in the first place, mind you—would just be a figurehead and Fusion Garage would have absolute control over the entire project.
It’s a shame, because the CrunchPad seemed like it was shaping up to be something genuinely awesome.
