With an unresolved dispute between TechCrunch and FusionGarage still simmering, the latter moved ahead and unveiled the JooJoo (apparently an “African term” that means magical). FusionGarage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan showed off the device during a webcast today and gave his side of the dispute with TechCrunch.
According to Rathakrishnan, FusionGarage did all the development and owns all the intellectual property associated with the device. TechCrunch was to have brought the investors and done the marketing. TechCrunch was apparently unable to meet its deadlines and the two companies never finalized any formal agreements. As a result, FusionGarage decided to move forward alone.
The JooJoo will come with a 12.1-inch capacitive touchscreen (offering 720p resolution), a 4GB SSD for local storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, a webcam, a USB port and a card slot. It will be powered by a UNIX web-based operating system which will boot directly into a browser. It will support full HD video playback and the battery should last about 5 hours with Wi-Fi on. It will weigh about 1.1 kilogram.
The JooJoo will be available for pre-order starting on December 11th for US$499. Shipments should start in early 2010. Accessories for it will be announced later.
Update: I’ve added a few additional specification details.