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Comment by iantimothy | Hacker News Reader

The decision made by Fusion Garage seems like a good one, based on where the market is going now. The company has clearly shown they can get a product built. To me, the question is whether they can shake off the stench from the mess with TechCrunch such that future marketing efforts for new products will not be pointless upon arrival.

Can the tech crowd be won over?

I'm really curious about the family of products to be released. The line that the products would talk to each other in a unique way is intriguing. It is the synergy between the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes products that is a really strong point for Apple. I wonder whether anyone has tried replicating that with Android-based systems, and done so successfully.

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I don't know if they've proven much of anything. End of life in what? 6 months? The iPad and most Android tablets will likely have updates for a few years into the future.

That's a big stinking fish if you don't even factor in the TC controversy. Anyone who bought a Joojoo is kicking themselves right now.

Straw poll: Has anybody here on HN...

a) Ordered a JooJoo?

b) Paid for a JooJoo?

c) Received a JooJoo?

I've never seen one, nor heard of anyone who even considered buying one.

I would have bought one from TC if it had been the original product that they touted, even the second version that was $100 more IIRC but nicer styled.

Without going into the whole debacle, it seems to me at least that together with TechCrunch, they managed to build a product. Just that when it came close to launch, they royally messed things up (or whatever, let's let the courts decide).

But somewhere there is a team that can build a touch screen tablet. Whether they can build a compelling offering that competes with the rest with their plans for an Android tablet, remains to be seen.

I do agree though, it seems like they are leaving, according to them, not unsubstantial number of customers in the lurch. Let's see whether they continue to provide decent support to existing Joojoo customers.

Although, having said that, no noise from customers for lack of support, could be there are no customers to make noise. :-)

We knew that Fusion Garage did the software, but did they do the hardware?

Remember that they had an ODM partner in Pegatron. Also with regards to the software, it's not like they garner positive reviews.

That's a good question. I do concede it is rather murky how much of the existing team was responsible and how much help they got from partners like TechCrunch and Pegatron.

Hardware board design was done by Pegatron along with some contractors both in the USA and Taiwan. FG took all that IP and re-created it (or possibly just ripped it - they had the boards and most ODMs can scan them and RE the schematics) with their new ODM.

Pegatron did a lot of IP work as they were sold on the TC involvement and the deals we had in the pipeline. They had very good engineering guys that worked with a guy we had in the USA.

The industrial design was done by a firm in Singapore

Software design and components were done by a variety of people. FG bought in contractors who did some drivers, and they had 2 FG guys who did the browser and UI

It was all thrown together very quickly and the team was only really scaled up in the months leading up to FG leaving us (TC). Lots of mistakes were made on the software side, but that is a whole other story.

(Note: I worked on the project while at TC)

Seems like FG was only doing systems integration and project management. Didn't see any IP that they came up with. They bascially outsource everything.

TC might as well partner up with any Taiwanese ODM. The Taiwanese ODMs are strong in engineering and manufacturing.

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