You’ve probably heard about Michael Arrington’s CrunchPad. If not, you can get caught up here. This is a really important gadget you might not want, might not buy, but should care about.
Custom Hardware Solutions: Take standard, off the shelf components, and make me what I want. I want an HD Movie Camera was big hard drive and an MP3 player built in. You want your toaster to have a connector where your Zune can be plugged. As I said, really custom stuff. This world of made to order gadgets is exciting and I believe full of potential. The CrunchPad will be a nice, high profile, way to get that ball rolling.
Group Solutions: Dan Frommer is taking a dump (“it’s toast”) on the device for all the obvious reasons, no storage, web only, need Internet, etc. And, of course, if Apple comes out with a cheap device, Michael’s device gets clobbered because of the marketing machine that is Apple. None of this, in my view, matters. Arrington, love em or hate em, has enough fans or put generically, has enough like minded people that want what he is building to get it built and make it a success to the extent it needs to be for the people that want it. At least that’s the working thesis and, for sure, I could be wrong.
No, this probably isn’t the next Apple or Motion Computing, but here’s the secret.
Let’s assume there are just 1000 people out of all the TechCrunch people in the world that want this device. If this device gets made and sold to 1000 happy people and the result is a manufacturing world and process which can now do these “one off” type devices, the game changes.
That’s why I want this device to get made. It begins a high profile (and positive) disruption at the point of manufacture and that can mean exciting things to you. Good luck, Michael.
Enjoy your weekend, everybody.
"You want your toaster to have a connector where your Zune can be plugged."
Only an ex-Microsoftie would write this even as a joke! Seriously though, an Apple device would be that, an Apple device- with a level of innovation that you will never get from a tech writer kludging together a bunch of off the shelf parts and buggy open source software. It's the integration that is that hard part with a totally new device. People pay a premium for innovation and simplicity. It's not marketing on Apple's part that drives sales, it's design excellence.
Posted by: Martin Edic | August 05, 2009 at 13:05
@Rick --
I always diss anyone who says "XYZ will make it". If XYZ will make it, then why haven't they?
Maybe XYZ thinks the world is heading in a different direction, has other priorities, or wants to spend their effort doing something else.
So to all the people who are kibtizing -- STFU
And to all the people who dis a device because it doesn't meet *their* needs, I just laugh.
My company, Amplafi ( http://amplafi.com ), product is built without a bunch of "must-have" features because for our target market, NOT having those "must-have features" is a feature!
Posted by: Pat | August 05, 2009 at 17:52
Pat,
What does this comment have to do with this post other than a blatant plug for your company? Looks like a copy and paste commenter to me Rick- I'd delete it.
Posted by: Martin Edic | August 06, 2009 at 10:05