February 26, 2010, 7:45 AM — On some sub-conscious level I often find myself sticking Fusion Garage's JooJoo internet tablet and Spring Design's Alex e-reader into the same mental basket. I suppose it's because both devices were originally introduced in the midst of controversy. The JooJoo used to be the CrunchPad before the deal between Michael Arrington and Fusion Garage fell apart, and one of the earliest bits of news we heard about the Alex was that Spring Design was suing Barnes & Noble due to similarities between the Alex and the Nook.
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Now it's looking like the two devices are similar in another way; both seem to be having trouble launching. The Alex was supposed to be out on February 22nd. Now, according to Electronista, Spring Design says it'll start accepting pre-orders during the first week of March with an intended ship date later the same month. The price will be $359, a full $100 more than the Nook and a price that feels higher and higher as the iPad launch draws near. Granted comparing the e-ink based Alex and the LED-backlit iPad isn't exactly apples to apples [pun intended], but it does seem like e-books will factor significantly in the iPad's success (or lack thereof). An extra $140 (the iPad starts at $499) seems like it gets your a lot more device.
Now let's look at the JooJoo. Back in mid-December Fusion Garage told us the JooJoo would ship in 8-10 weeks. In early February they assured us it would ship by the end of the month, which is effectively today. And no JooJoo! Yesterday Engadget contacted the company to see what was up and they were told to check back in March for a new ship date. The price is still $500. Again, comparisons to the iPad are unavoidable. The JooJoo is bigger and runs Flash, but otherwise seems like a "lesser" device in all other aspects. Of course until both devices are in users' hands we won't know for sure.
Now at least Spring Design isn't accepting pre-orders so we can cut them some slack, but Fusion Garage is apparently taking peoples' money and is now unable to deliver on time. Their "no comment" response when Engadget asked them for a reason for the delay doesn't instill confidence. Why the lack of transparency? Does the company have something to hide? Is it the Arrington lawsuit? Funding? Hopefully March will roll around and we'll get a firm ship date that they'll meet, and everyone will be happy. But the pessimist in me sees this all ending badly.
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