14 DAY TRIAL // When it started out as the CrunchPad, the current JooJoo tablet seemed like a rather promising product, thanks to its web browsing and multimedia capabilities and especially because there were very few known tablet plans at the time.
Now, several months and a an ongoing court action later, the once intriguing device appears to have hit a rather sturdy and painful wall as orders are scarce and the legal battle with TechCrunch escalates. Not only that, but it seems that Fusion Garage was also unable to keep its promise and ship the devices on March 29.
A certain document recently made public, and not exactly coincidentally originating with the TechCrunch attorney, revealed that, instead of being met by high customer interest, Fusion Garage is faced with a dangerously low number of orders, some of which have even been removed in the meantime.
Specifically, the total of pre-orders made as of February 11 only amounts to 90, of which 15 were subsequently canceled. Furthermore, the customers that were supposed to have gotten their units by now have to wait a while longer, as the tablets are currently in Los Angeles, where they are delayed because of paperwork. The company assures that the “absolute worst case" is that the slates will reach purchasers on April 2.
Some clarifications may come from Engadget, which seems to have gotten information directly from the manufacturer. The team there received a screenshot of the DHL manifest, showing the customs delay, and also learned that the company's “relationship with PayPal is ending in favor of a more traditional payment processor,” which may explain, in part, the low amount of orders received so far. Still, the JooJoo developer looks like it has some work to do before it can set the situation straight, both with TechCrunch and its own customers.