Joojoo 1 week later,  review By Mark Perrin

Background

I’m sure if you are reading this you already know what the Joojoo is and some of the history of the device formerly called the Crunchpad.  For the uninitiated here is a little history.  The Crunchpad was the brainchild of Michael Arrington; the original concept  was to create a basic internet tablet for surfing the net.  The price was targeted to be in the $200 region and after displaying a few prototype devices the price was subsequently increased and the shipping date delayed.  Overall the device met with a lot of enthusiasm at the time but just prior to launch, there was an announcement (by Arrington) that the project was dead due to a disagreement internally between Michael Arrington and Fusion Garage (co developers) .  In the end, Fusion Garage pressed on and renamed the product the Joojoo and a disgruntled Michael Arrington submitted a claim against them claiming IP theft.  We don’t want to go on about this as we don’t know the full extent of the argument from either side and are more interested in the love child that has resulted.

Exceptional Presentation

If you have seen our un-boxing video then I’m sure you will be equally impressed with how well this device was packaged to us.  The box and packaging were all first rate and everything arrived in good condition with two exceptions.  The first was the plug was of a non compatible standard for the UK (We have been assured all models are now shipped with a UK plug), also the stand that was ordered was not supplied in the original consignment.  Upon bringing the lack of a stand to the attention of Fusion Garage via an email, this was shipped within hours and invoiced at zero cost to avoid repeat customs charges already paid; it arrived today again very well packaged.  The manuals are very clear and there is also a welcome video pre installed on the device that shows briefly how to operate the device.  We were charged £61.50 in customs duty for delivery in the UK including the stand.

Hardware

The quality of the hardware is very nice for a first generation product.  Let’s not forget that Fusion Garage is only a small team of 14 people so resources are inevitably limited.  The device has a very high quality feel to it, the back panel is Aluminium and there is a web cam on the front.  Inside there is 1GB Ram and an Intel Atom 1.6 Processor with Ion graphics.  The screen is a 12.1in capacitive touch screen (the largest on any device).  Sound quality is average and could be a little louder in our opinion.   We have got a few complaints about the device which we hope will be addressed in a future hardware update. 

1. 1)Weight, the device weight is a little on the heavy side at 2.4lbs however the device is very well balanced with no bias to either side when holding it.
   

2. 2)Sharp edges on the front side of the screen.  There is a sharp edge around the screen that when holding for prolonged periods does tend to stick into your hand, this would be softened by a silicone case if one was provided to protect the device.
   

3. 3)Ambient light sensor location gets in the way of your hand.  The ambient light sensor is below the web cam about half way up the left side of the device and this is where you would likely be holding the device.  It’s easier to just switch it off and manually set the brightness.
   

4. 4)Power button is recessed.  I can sort of understand why the power button would be recessed as its location is on the side of the device and there is now no danger of accidentally switching the device off.  However it also does not register prolonged presses (required to put device into standby) as accurately as I would like.  This could always be fixed by software though.
   

Overall I do not want to detract from what is a very nice first effort.  I have no complaints from using the device for my first week; there is nothing here that would be a show stopper for me. 

Software

This is something I want to be clear about in my review.   Before I ordered the Joojoo I had very low expectations for this device.  I have read the few reviews out there from Engadget and Cnet etc and my expectations had been set to not expect much.  In the week I have had it there has been two software updates, the latest being 0.1.11 which adds some extra support for the Joojoo player to work on sites other than Youtube providing the video link is available.  The device boots up in 9 seconds just as advertised and straight into a web browser interface.  It connects to the wifi network and has some basic adjustment for setting wallpaper and scanning for updates.  On the main screen there are some shortcuts for navigating straight to websites like Flickr and Facebook and a button labelled Joojoo that returns you back to the home screen from a site.  Overall the interface is very basic but certainly looks nice.  I have had no use for the reset pin so far as the device has not crashed once. 

There are some simple gestures you can make that add some extra functionality from the home screen.  A swipe to the left will slide a bookmarks screen onto the page and will allow you to go straight to any of you bookmarked sites, a swipe the other way will bring up your browsing history and a simple calendar.   In my opinion the software could still do with some work but there is nothing missing that cannot be added by the fusion garage team with their software updates.  Here is a list of things I have found to be lacking; I would like to see these addressed very soon.

1)Passwords are not saved between sessions.  If you log into Facebook then turn off the device you have to re log in next time.  This can be very time consuming for a device built around an internet only experience.

2)Many flash videos stutter if made fullscreen and don’t work in joojoo player.

3)On screen keyboard has a few minor issues.  Full stop and comma are back to front and there is no shift key.  Also pressing the caps lock does not change the keyboard display from uppercase to lowercase etc, its permanently uppercase.  There also needs to be a full stop on the main keyboard and not on the second page.

4)Occasional but regular Wi-Fi drop outs.  This could be hard to fix I’m guessing.

5)Smooth scrolling and swiping on main screen.  The main home screen needs to have the same buttery smooth graphics as the Ipad in my opinion so that it gives a polished feel; instead it judders a little.

6)Copy and paste to clipboard.  This is a very important feature for a device with no native apps as you find yourself switching between browser tabs.

7)No ability to change/delete/add shortcuts to the main page. Eg,  Hulu does not work in the UK, so I would like to be able to delete the link as its just a waste of space. 

8)No ability to open a new tab without going back to the main home page and clicking a link.  This is annoying.

9. 9)Keyboard does not auto punctuate or spell correct.  With onscreen keyboards, mistakes are inevitable and auto punctuation and spell correction essential.
   

I guess after that list you may be thinking this is a bad device.  Well no, actually its not.  I have delayed my review of this device as I wanted to make sure I had spent sufficient time with it to gauge if it was any good and to compare it to my Ipad.  This is the truth, “I have barely picked up my Ipad since using the Joojoo”.  The Ipad is an example of how to do things right but for some reason I just keep going to my Joojoo first for surfing the net.  The overall experience of the Joojoo, despite its faults, is surprisingly good.  Web pages display exactly as they should and in my opinion some flash support (not the full experience yet) is still better than none at all.  I watched the all things D videos without any issues via Engadget on the Joojoo and they weren’t even visible on the Ipad.  Browsing is fast (Acid3 test scored 100/100) and even the battery life is very good although completely battered by the Ipad.  I have been getting around 2.5 hours of non stop Wi-Fi surfing from the Joojoo and believe me, that’s plenty.  You have browsed all you would want to way before the battery dies.  Ipad by comparison seems to last forever on battery (that’s not a complaint). 

Experience Good Joojoo or Bad Joojoo?

Well the easiest way to answer that is, would I order it had I been able to play with it prior? 

Absolutely, yes I would.  In every way it’s an object of desire.  I love the presentation of the device, I love having the full internet (although with some issues) in my hand and it has highlighted more Ipad shortcomings with web browsing than I was expecting.  Fusion Garage needs to improve their customer service and make sure they deliver on their promises and frequent their forum regularly to get valuable feedback from their customers.  They have been making very positive strides to improve this over the last few weeks and have learnt some lessons from the poor US launch and reception.

If I only had £429 to spend on a device which would I buy?

Duh the Ipad of course.  It’s a better device in 99% of the scenarios; however don’t be so quick to dismiss the Joojoo.  As an internet browser, it’s as good in most ways and better in others than the Ipad.  It totally destroys the disappointing experience of the Archos 5 internet tablet and the extra screen size makes browsing a pleasure and not a chore.  I am happy I have both devices and for the gadget hound out there or the Apple hater (they do exist), there is an alternative device that is actually very good.  Don’t believe all of the bad press it got in the US, it has got some potential as a specialist gadget.

Is it an Ipad Killer?

Oh shut up!   Its not an ipad killer, why does everything have to be a competition where one is a winner and the other a looser?  Surely both can co-exist together in harmony.   Fusion garage are a 14 man team, and Apple has more than that in one of their stores.  Let’s put things into perspective, many large companies have promised a great device and under delivered.  Here is a device that’s delivering on some of its promise and I believe that if the software updates keep coming and they keep focus it can more than justify its existence.

What have they got so wrong in the US?

There is a consensus that this company has made so many mistakes that there is no easy way back.  There needs to be a virtual line drawn in the sand between the blogosphere and Fusion Garage.  Do we really want a marketplace where start-ups are shunned away?  Personally I don’t think there is enough innovation going on and I like the opportunity to get excited about a new product.  The price is a little high for this device in my opinion and at £319 + Vat it’s thrown into the firing line of the Ipad.  At £319 incl vat it would make a stronger case for itself and certainly at that price and with the issues resolved, I can’t see why this product should fail.  This Arrington court case also needs to be put to bed, either by some form of payout to him for his efforts or make friends again, there is nobody going to benefit from a court case where everybody looses.  Recently Fusion Garage has shown that they are listening to their customers, they have started participating in their forums and the devices have started to ship out.  I wish them every success.  Communication is key.

Conclusion

This device really does have something to offer.  Steve Jobs justified the Ipad by saying that it has to be better than a laptop at some things in order to justify its existence.  Well the Joojoo does the internet better than the ipad, it’s a little different in its execution and certainly won’t be for everybody, but in this house that’s enough for us.  I’m very happy with my purchase and the Joojoo has got its place in the family.

I will be adding some more videos soon showing some comparisons between Safari on the Ipad and the Joojoo web experience.  I sincerely hope Fusion Garage continue to update their device, it still has some way to go.  But its getting there…     To get your hands on a Joojoo of your own, visit www.thejoojoo.com 

Mark