good joojoo

Good joojoo/Bad joojoo

2010 Apr 26

by chandra

Welcome to Good joojoo, the Fusion Garage blog where I plan on communicating directly with you on developments from within Fusion Garage and on industry issues. I am sure that some readers will snicker at this blog’s title. Let’s face it, our joojoo hasn’t been good lately but it is our intent to communicate transparently about our category creating Internet tablet and the progress of our company. We welcome all viewpoints.

When we made the decision to name our first product joojoo, I knew full well that the name would inspire the inevitable use of the phrases “good joojoo” and “bad joojoo.” The name is derived, as many of you know, from a French-African word that loosely translated means magical object. It’s no secret that we’ve enjoyed some good joojoo magical moments and some bad joojoo as well over the past few months.

As I write this post, many in the blogosphere are predicting joojoo’s demise and playing off our name to come up with many creative headlines to make their point. We have brought this bad joojoo on ourselves and I take full responsibility for where we are today. The bottom line, however, is that the rumors of our death are greatly exaggerated and we see good joojoo coming back to us in the very near future.

We are in the midst of bad joojoo for a very simple reason: We were aggressive in our product delivery commitments, decided to completely revise our UI as we were readying the product for release and our initial units shipped with software that proved to be problematic when put to the test in the real world.

Embarrassing? Yes. Correctable? Absolutely. And we will.

We will have a robust software update available shortly that we fully expect to eliminate many of the problems that were widely reported in our initial product review cycle. We will also be able to play full screen HD video as promised via our Fusion Garage player.

We also brought bad joojoo on ourselves relative to timing. Let’s face it, shipping our product in close proximity to Apple’s iPad launch was not exactly what we planned but that’s what we had to do. As a 14-person company, we have no designs on being an iPad “killer” as has been stated by some bloggers. We may be ambitious but we are not delusional. Interestingly enough, one of the main reasons I believe that good joojoo is forthcoming is the very issue that some have predicted would be the death of us: We aren’t Apple.

Let me explain.

I’ve seen the iPad and I like Apple products. I also know, because hundreds of people have emailed me and told me, that not everybody is an Apple Fan Boy. They are closed from an environment perspective and not all aspects of their design and business philosophy are endearing to everybody. Additionally, an app store is not the end all for devices such as this. The iPad has some neat features and apps but that doesn’t mean their paradigm is for everybody.

We have talked to carriers, retailers, entertainers, media companies and consumers on this subject and the theme is consistent: they are looking for an open platform with a great display that can deliver information in new ways without traditional constraints. Sure, we’ve had our issues but the people we are talking to see beyond that. So have our customers.

And, on that topic, yes we do have customers! Are our sales low in comparison to iPad sales? Of course, no surprise there. Our numbers have also been tamped down by understandable concern over pre-ordering a $500 product from a new company and a company involved with a lawsuit. Now that the product is shipping, our orders are increasing. On the subject of the lawsuit, we are making very positive progress in that area and remain as confident as we have been all along.

But none of that matters until we begin to generate our own good joojoo. Starting with our forthcoming software updates, we are planning to do just that. Stay tuned.

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87 Comments

  • by ocbenji

    30 Apr 2010 at 13:19

    I am very optimistic about this product and believe that your software updates will be your “killer app”. Your support to an open environment is great! Like they say, “if you can’t open it, you don’t own it.”

    I’m rooting for you and forward to your coming good joojoo.

  • by Gregory

    30 Apr 2010 at 14:51

    The only reason for not purchasing one is the lack of ability to play my media files……I cannot surf the web without listening to music!

  • by Prof. Pierre Coupet

    30 Apr 2010 at 15:16

    Just came across your site by accident. It’s refreshing to see this sort of candor. I definitely love the concept. I will buy a JooJoo once the problems you mentioned have been resolved.

  • by Matthew Anderson

    30 Apr 2010 at 17:58

    Iv been rooting you guys on since day one! I love your confidence and diligence. In this world of mega corporations running everything it is refreshing to see an under dog making something happen. We are a mixed household (Apple/PC). I own an iPad (and love it) and my wife wants a tablet now. We read that you were opening up the JooJoo and also that you were getting 3G for it along with a price tweak. When the changes have been made you can put us down for one right away and if all goes well, we’ll probably take a few more for the family. Hang in there Chandra, nothing worth doing is easy!

  • by David

    30 Apr 2010 at 18:07

    Some of have been burned too many times with new gadgets and understand your perspective of needing to get to market but saying you are coming forward with a new update and not giving any specs on what it fixes and what it adds? Need more info!

  • Pingback

    by iPad’s Success: Fueling HP and Microsoft Tablet Drama? | Find Tech News

    30 Apr 2010 at 18:22

    [...] is still doing its best to fight on. Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan on Monday put up a post on the company’s blog discussing the company’s future prospects, and the reason for its current state of “bad [...]

  • by Sanjay

    30 Apr 2010 at 20:50

    Hello Sir

    I am keeping a close eye on your product and am anxious to see how it progresses and what your new software update will bring to the JooJoo.

    I did however have a few questions and hopefully you will be able to answer them.

    Firstly, seems like the reason Steve Job’s did not include Flash Support in the Ipad is because he is counting and concentrating on the forth coming HTML 5 standard. Is this something that you too will be supporting in the JooJoo?

    Second – I know you your product pretty much concentrates on a Internet Experience and please forgive me if this has already been stated, but does the JooJoo have any applications to store and play back music and photos?

    If so, are there plans to provide larger capacities in the future? 4gb does seem a little small.

    So far your product does seem very interesting to me and hopefully if I could get my questions answered, I may actually be convinced to get one.

    Thanks for your time.

  • by Marco

    30 Apr 2010 at 21:47

    Plz! send to mexico city!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

  • by Ajay Soni

    30 Apr 2010 at 22:26

    I (a business app developer in the UK) just ordered one, the JooJoo holds a lot of potential which I believe a lot of us do.

    Can’t wait for the device.

    Are there any thoughts of making the operating system open source like Android so fixes and enhancements can be suggested.

    Also, “we collective big brains” can help suggest solutions and ideas on a closed forum perhaps under NDA perhaps.

    Would be great to get a two-way conversations going.

    Keep up the good work, and deliver your babies.

    All the best

    Ajay

  • by Iris Jackson

    01 May 2010 at 03:01

    I stumbled upon your product because I was looking for something else. I am so tired of the big boys such Microsoft, and the almighty Apple taking over Everything,and people acting as if there are no other companies out there. Sure I like some of Apple’s products, but there is room for everyone. So let’s get the Good JooJoo going, and rebuke the negative JooJoo. As soon as I am able I will order your product because it has the features that I want, and not just a name I know.

  • by Night

    01 May 2010 at 04:16

    Finn, I’m not sure about the “iPad looks like an expensive toy” part… from what I can see the JooJoo ships at 499$ per unit. This is the starting price for iPad (which offers more features than JooJoo). So if I understand correctly they are equally cheap or equally expensive :)

    I’m not a fan of iPad (or JooJoo – yet ;) ) — I’m browsing through different tablets to check out the trend and see if it makes sense to be interested in the area. Where I live the tablets seem to be “the song of the future” ;)

    Best regards.

  • by Benjamin

    01 May 2010 at 18:07

    I’ve emailed you guys several times, but nobody has been able to reply to a simple question.. Will I be able to read comics in the joojoo?

  • by Loretta Sahu

    01 May 2010 at 19:04

    I want to get a new ipad. I think that the ebook stuff looks like it will be really neat to use.

  • by Tom

    02 May 2010 at 14:14

    Hi, just wanted to say the tablet looks great but it still needs work a few things would make me want this then the ipad, such as

    1. Better battery life.
    2. A desktop area to load files off a flash drive or wifi point.
    3. Some apps to work with such as Office apps.
    4. An entertainment area for viewing my own media such as video and music, which could be loaded from a flash drive or wifi point.

    The New UI looks great.
    JooJoo needs a big investor like Microsoft.

    Good luck.

  • by Neeraj Bharati

    02 May 2010 at 18:59

    ur website is beautifully rendered an I expect same approach in development of joojoo. I am currently using. iPad but feel that the product has received more attention then it deserves. it is also basically an Internet centric device and it’s other applications are almost nonproductive except the book reading feature. joojoo appears to have. great potential to be the Internet consuming device and perhaps can beat iPad as iPad is actually a confused device. you need either Internet or laptop . joojoo can provide the Internet better than iPad and fo my comuting need I have to open my laptop. sorry iPad hardly have computing powers in real sense. Other than laptop I need a better and bigger device and I think joojoo can be the right choice.
    neerajbharati India

  • by chandra

    02 May 2010 at 20:40

    hello benjamin,

    sorry that you did not receive replies. online comics are readable on joojoo

  • by constantin

    03 May 2010 at 10:05

    how does the video conferencing work?
    will it be possible to make skype calls?

  • by Kevin H

    03 May 2010 at 12:44

    An excellent looking device, with great potential. I do have to say however to me you do seem to have missed an opportunity. 4Gb storage may be OK for a few MP3s but future revisions should perhaps include an SDHC card slot, enabling users to expand storage cheaply to 8,16Gb and beyond very cheaply. I fully understand the Joojoo is first and foremost an internet connected device, but with such a useful item there are times when people will want to use it offline to play movies, view photos and play music. A long plane journey for example, or a train journey on trains with no WIFI and patchy 3G reception (common in the UK unfortunately). I also think your team should look into releasing a software development kit which could build up a huge catalogue of applications for the device enabling uses even your team might be surprised at. UPnP support would also be a huge plus enabling streaming of music and videos around the house.

    Just a few ideas. I certainly wish you and your team well, and hope the device sells extremely well.

  • by Shan Palaniappan

    03 May 2010 at 16:32

    How the technical support works for the JooJoo and is there any customer service contact numbers?

    Thanks,
    Shan

  • by Jose Luis Romero

    03 May 2010 at 19:31

    Hello Chandra
    Today I have bought in your web a JooJoo, want to know if I will be able to write in Spanish with the JooJoo. I refer to letters as her ñ Spanish.
    I am wishing that the JooJoo comes to me to be able to release it

    Graces and congratulations

  • by Gene

    04 May 2010 at 06:57

    GLAD to see the Joojoo get off the ground with a good manufacturing partner. The device has great potential to be more flexible and a more serious device than the iPad, but I agree with Tom that it needs to be more than just a Web portal; it needs a desktop and the ability to do some things locally, and some local storage to go with that plus the ability to use a keyboard and mouse when desired. Like you, Chandra, I travel internationally, and I want to use a tablet as an ebook reader (in addition to the Internet) and have enough battery power to use it for a few hours.

    Very best wishes to the Joojoo team.

  • by frafa

    04 May 2010 at 10:43

    2 emails sent, no response?

  • by Peter

    06 May 2010 at 19:27

    Hi

    I too have not had replies to my question submitted to you by e-mail and is a little dissapointing if you expect perople to part with their cash for a new product from an unknown company?

    What I would like to know is what security is their against viruses and hackers on the joojoo and would it be safe to do on-line banking etc?

  • by Giovanni

    07 May 2010 at 15:21

    Goodmorning ,
    I need to know if the tablet JooJoo supports Java run time for my trading platform. Can you indicate to me if JooJoo supports Java Run Time ?

    Thanks in advance .
    Regards
    Giovanni

  • by Warren

    07 May 2010 at 19:25

    While watching video, listening to music, and in general surfing the web are all features I’m looking for, there’s something that thus far nobody delivers – ability to load full PDFs, read them with all their charts, graphics, and mathematical formulas (forget Kindle or nook – they can’t render that), and allow for annotating files and saving those notes. Second big beef with iPad: no expansion slot for memory. I can get 32GB for $50 on an SD card, but have to pay $100 to have that built in? An SD slot also allows easy transfer of music, pictures, and other files between computers and peripherals. So how about it? Any word on PDFs and SD slots?

  • by Kyle

    08 May 2010 at 21:55

    Hi! Its great to see another company battle it out with you know who… anyways the only way I am going to buy this is if I can hook up my external hard drive (ntfs) and watch some movies/tv shows off it… will this be supported in a software update soon?

    Thanks,

    Kyle

  • by stu

    10 May 2010 at 18:53

    Also proper marketing will help your company. Example: on your website: the fact that the device has an onscreen keyboard is NOT illustrated or demonstrated! Time for a new marketing manager!

  • by Andy

    13 May 2010 at 03:24

    Hiya! i have to say that im really looking forward to getting a joojoo (just saving up at the moment) i love the look and the feel of the machine. But what has got me really excited is the possiblity that with some tweeking i can really push what the tablet can do.

    One such possiblity would be to upgrade or increase the Ram on this unit or put a larger SSD i know this would void the warrenty but the gains far out way risk!

    I think it would go a very very long way, if you could provide information on what type of ram or ssd memory could be used in conjunction with your machine. As letting loose a community of android/linux/windows users on what potentialy could be the actual tablet that everyone who uses a computer for work is really after.

    I know as a creative proffesional ( illustrator/web designer ) even if the joojoo was plugged in all the time. If I could load a full OS on this run a program that could let me draw/sketch/paint ( you know what i mean ;) ) even with my hands or even better some form of stylus i would buy one in a heartbeat and so would a million others.

    so any aditional information on the unit, even if it comes with a could void your warranty notice would be much appreciated!
    please keep up the good work you guys are doing!!

  • by Mehdi

    13 May 2010 at 17:42

    hi, accidentally came accross your website looking for ipad alternative, and you know why?

    simply because I am an unfortunate iphone owner who did not research that the damn apple does not support the FLASH.

    I would be really glad if you explain to me if : joojoo can:

    1. display flash movies
    2. download reltively small windows based software as it is done on normal PC and install them
    3. provide a system restore disk when the “joojoo crashes”
    4. have a web cam IN-built.
    5. inthe future have a 3d Display.

    thanks
    Mehdi

  • by SunT

    16 May 2010 at 06:39

    1….People are saying here no 3g?

    Its really good construction. It got slot for simcard, only what you need is 3g modem in mini pciexpress slot. Yes there is one free minipciexpress slot…. inside you got two of them but one is occupied by WiFi.

    2. No multimedia?

    Why don’t you install ubuntu? Windows XP? It got ATOM!!!

    3. Low storage?

    Again it’s possible to put in SSD with 32GB.

    ————————-
    But is it true? I only see some pictures that that kind of things are possible. Plz Answer and say yes if that is true what I said.

  • by fraps

    18 May 2010 at 15:45

    What about printing over wifi?

  • by Gus Zubizarreta

    03 Jun 2010 at 14:48

    Amazing website, where did you come up with the data in this posting? Im glad I discovered it though, ill be checking back soon to see what other articles you’ve.

  • by Garmin Car

    07 Jun 2010 at 01:54

    thanks for posting. Great article.

  • by thejoker

    13 Jun 2010 at 07:01

    1. Increase Battery Life
    2. Stick more flash memory onboard
    3. Let it run Windows XP/7 (as an option)

    That’s something I’ll put my money on.

    You should have a forum to hear what the users want and for what price it needs to be. You’ll have a winner

  • by Free Artikle

    16 Jun 2010 at 16:49

    gives use a perfect web site decent Gives bless you for the effort to guide everyone

  • by Lamonica Shoaf

    19 Jun 2010 at 08:34

    Thanks for an interesting article. After looking through different websites I finally found something worth reading.

  • by Elwood Nedeau

    20 Jun 2010 at 01:57

    Just Wanted to say that this post has got some good info….i dont fully agree with every thing that is expressed..and would like to hear some other points of view on the matter

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