Hey guys, remember the CrunchPad? Remember how it got killed even before it went into production? Right now, Fusion Garage is still pushing through with the much-delayed tablet computer, and they’ve called it… Joojoo. Yeah. I know, it’s not really the most appealing name for a product, but it’s still the same old CrunchPad everyone’s been looking for, save for the name and the fact that TechCrunch is suing Fusion Garage’s pants off in an attempt to get their product back.

In spite of the delays, Fusion Garage is finally putting the CrunchPad – wait, sorry – the Joojoo tablet in production. I think that releasing tablet computers in this post-iPad world would be a bit of an uphill battle, but Fusion Garage seems to be very confident that their tablet can go and take on Apple’s mythical tablet. Anyway, the Joojoo can handle Flash.

Chandra [Rathakrishna, Fusion garage CEO] still wouldn’t budge on revealing what’s powering the device, but he was more than happy to confirm that the tablet will support full Flash at launch, and HD Flash content once Flash 10.1 is officially released — YouTube HD will play right now using a separate player plugin that takes advantage of GPU acceleration. “We have a bigger ‘app store’ than Apple because we have the full Internet,” he told us. Nevertheless, Fusion plans to launch a “web store” that will allow people to find web applications on the Joojoo.

I wonder how they’re going to price the thing, though. Are they going head-on with Apple’s $499 pricing for the iPad, or are they going for a more competitive price?

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I’m not a fan of the way they design their computers, but the sheer power Alienware computers pack in such small packages more than make up for the borderline-tacky designs. After all, we might be able to see the launch of the most powerful sub-12″ notebook ever.

The Alienware M11x boasts an 11.6-inch, white LED backlit screen that displays high-definition (HD) graphics at 720p resolution and 30 frames per second – thanks to a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce graphics card. this gaming notebook packs a lot of juice – it can last up to 8.5 hours on its battery. For $1,699, you get a 1.3GHz processor, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive and Windows 7 Home Premium.

If you have any doubts that this notebook is destined for greatness, check out the hands-on from Gizmodo:

Let me make this clear: The M11X is unabashedly Alienware. I mean, its LEDs behind the keyboard and thermal grates sort of give that away. I’m not crazy about the plastic case, and I wish the 1366×768 screen were covered in glass instead of plastic. As someone who appreciates minimal design, it’s pretty much the antithesis of my taste.

Yet, I still liked the M11X.

While it manages to still weigh in at a hefty 4 or so pounds (your brain doesn’t anticipate the weight), it’s just an incredible amount of power for an 11.6-inch laptop.

Inside, you’ll find an energy-sipping Core2Duo alongside a 1GB Nvidia 335M graphics card—which is fairly insane for the size. But playing Star Trek Online and Call of Duty, I didn’t doubt the power. You can’t run CoD with anti-aliasing on, but otherwise, the experience is sharp, smooth and surprisingly palatable on the tiny display—keep in mind, I was testing it running off a battery.

If you want to get one of these babies, you can pre-order here.

However Google seems to be on a collision course with Apple. After the search engine giant’s Google Voice app was pulled from the iTunes App Store, they responded by releasing the Google Nexus One. They’re also moving in the operating system business by way of the Google Chrome OS (I’ve been pretty unimpressed with it, by the way), and they’re poised to go for laptops/netbooks as well with the as-of-yet mythical Google netbook.

But it looks like they’re also going for the tablet market as well, because we’re seeing a Google Chrome OS tablet in the future. We’ve heard rants about the iPad a million times already and it’s not even out yet, so the Google Chrome Tablet is looking pretty attractive to those not yet fully convinced that the iPad is the future.

So the guys at Chromium just posted some picture mockups and a video simulation of the Google Chrome Tablet in action. Guess what? It can run more than one application!

Check out the video below:

Although I know that we’ll be seeing more touchscreen internet appliances in the future, I still don’t know if touchscreen devices are actually a good deal now or if we have to wait a couple of years more. And I still am iffy with the prospect of an all-cloud operating system, even though it makes more sense with a tablet PC over a netbook.

What do you guys think?

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I’ve detailed the reasons why I’m not the least bit excited over the iPad in Gadzooki. To be honest, I’m not an Apple hater. I think the iPod – all its iterations – is the greatest thing ever. Macs are pretty spectacular devices. But the iPad left me a bit cold. And the disappointment over the iPad has left me looking for other touchscreen devices, and I see that MSI’s dual-screen netbooks are going on shelves pretty soon.

From EeePC.net:

MSI is taking advantage of the current tablet craze by pushing up the launch of the concept dual-screen netbook they showed off at CES a couple of weeks ago. LaptopMag found this out in its interview with MSI President Joseph Hsu and MSI VP for Sales and Marketing , North America Andy Tung.

During the interview, Tung mentioned that the device will be a eReader and netbook combo, with the second screen acting as a haptic touchscreen keyboard when needed. They plan to release this mid-year with Google Chrome OS possibly bundled in. Despite the dual screens, MSI notes that the device will still boast 4-5 hours of battery life.

The device itself looks pretty promising since it gives more screen space in the same netbook package. No price yet though I’m sure this will cost as much as a regular notebook with the new tech going into it.

This won’t be an iPad-level hit to be sure, but it’s nice to see other manufacturers, MSI in particular creating something different from Apple’s products, unlike the Macbook air-like laptop they unveiled a few months ago.

On smartbooks, however, I think Chrome OS will be more than a threat. I’m pretty sure Chrome OS will become the de facto OS for smartbooks in due time, since smartbooks can’t run Windows. Speaking of smartbooks, we can see a pre-release version of Google’s OS on a Marvell Armada 510 chipset.

More from Liliputing:

Google has already stated that its upcoming Chrome Operating System can run on x86 or ARM-based processors. But it’s still pretty nifty to see a pre-release version of the OS running on devices with low power ARM-based operating systems.

We’ve seen Chrome OS running on a tablet prototype from Freescale using the company’s i.MX515 chipset. Now Charbax from ARMdevices.net has posted a video of a prototype device from Marvell using the Armada 510 chipset running Chrome OS.

There’s no support for Flash yet, and Marvell is still just testing the operating system. But seeing as how the Marvel Armada 510 platform is powerful enough to run Ubuntu 9.10 Linux with support for 1080p HD video playback, I can’t imagine why a light weight OS that’s basically a glorified web browser wouldn’t run smoothly on the same hardware.

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You know, travelling doesn’t just mean vacations and whatnot. If you take your laptop to work like I do, then you must be pretty familiar with the tedium of the daily commute carrying a huge and heavy laptop around. Granted, the laptops that we’re carrying now aren’t as huge and bulky as the ones that came out fifteen years ago, but they’re still heavy. You can argue that with the advent of netbooks, commuting has never been easier, but sometimes working full-time on an Atom-powered netbook isn’t enough. I need a full-powered computer for office work, and a huge, bulky laptop fills that particular need.

Now going on a crowded train with a laptop in tow isn’t exactly a great thing to do. A lot of things can happen in trains, and I’ve lost a cellphone once in a particularly crazy crowd. Not exactly the most ideal conditions to carry a laptop around. Now, how do we get to protect our precious, expensive gadgets from thieves and the usual damage that it’s going to get from commuting?

First line of defense would be using a nondescript bag. This one is pretty much common sense, why should we use the bags that came with the laptops? You look like you’re carrying a laptop, plus the manufacturer’s logo is on the bag itself. It’s like advertising yourself to muggers and whatnot. I use a backpack that costs around $40. Keep a good eye on your laptop at all times.

Also, remember that your privacy is at stake at well. Imagine what can happen to your personal files if they ended up in unscrupulous hands. Keep your sensitive data out of your laptop and store it in a USB thumb drive. Backup all your data, even. You can never be too safe.

For all you commuters with laptops, what other tips can you share? Leave them in the comments!

I know we travel a lot with our laptops, and wherever we end up, we usually have no control as to how we position our laptops, and we don’t have a choice if we end up in a non-ergonomic setup. This usually ends with us being reduced to a screaming contorted ball of pain. Personally, I am taking the time to set up a nice, comfortable working area at home. I use my laptop as my main computer, and back when I was using an Asus Eee, I was used to just setting it up wherever I can. I usually work on the bed – which explains the typos of posts past, but that’s another story – which is in no way comfortable or safe for the laptop.

For the last two weeks, I’ve been slowly setting up a home office of sorts. I’ve repurposed an old unused desk as the workstation, but it’s too high and I am looking into using a USB keyboard to reduce stress. Why use a separate keyboard, you ask? The laptop violates a basic ergonomic principle – the monitor and the laptop should be separate.

From Ergo In Demand:

With a fixed design, if the keyboard is in an optimal position for the user, the screen isn’t, and if the screen is optimal the keyboard isn’t going to be placed properly. Even contemporary laptop designs fail to satisfy this basic ergonomic positioning requirement, which means that users must pay special attention to how they use their laptop in order to avoid muscular-skeletal disorders, headaches, fatigue, and similar complaints that result from non-ergonomic computer use.

What about you guys? Do you have a home laptop setup or do you just set up anywhere you feel like it? Tell me about it in the comments.

Sure, Asus conceptualized the idea first, but MSI beat practically every netbook manufacturer for doing this. MSI is showing off a netbook prototype with twin 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen displays and no physical keyboard. However, you can bring up an on-screen keyboard which, when pressed, actually vibrates the netbook. The haptic feedback is a nice touch, if you ask me.

Though MSI is calling this dual 10-inch screen device an e-reader, it’s really a netbook with two screens since it’s got an Atom Z Series processor and Windows 7 Home Premium. Again: Windows 7 Home Premium! I wonder what hardware is running under the hood. So far details regarding the hardware have been scant, except for the processor: an Intel Atom Z-series.

Brian of Liliputing was able to get his hands n a prototype and this is what he has to say about it:

The demo unit I tested out this afternoon is an early prototype, and the touchscreen wasn’t quite as responsive as I (or the friendly MSI rep) would have liked. I found it a little difficult, for instance, to drag items from one screen to the other, or to make the keyboard larger or smaller. But it’s likely that these kinks could be worked out before MSI would bring the device to market.

Here’s a video demo if Brian using the MSI netbook prototype:

Personally though, I wouldn’t bother with dual-screen devices yet. Call me old fashioned, but I really can’t live or work without a physical keyboard. Well, that is until virtual keyboards get their act together.

Ever wish you can bring your laptop around, and not worry about battery life at all even when you don’t have your charger with you? I’m talking about working at that laptop of yours for more than six hours without the need to charge it. Yeah, the laptop brick can be pretty unwieldy to bring around at times. I feel you.

Now it’s probably going to take a couple of years more before we see this technology becoming really useful, but RCA has developed a charger that charges your gadgets via wifi signals. You read it right folks, wifi.

According to physorg.com:

[An] RCA spokesman said they had been able to charge a BlackBerry from 30% charge to fully charged in around 90 minutes using only ambient WiFi signals as the power source, although it was unclear on whether the Airenergy battery was recharged in that time. The Airenergy recharging time depends on the proximity to the WiFi signal and the number of WiFi sources in the vicinity.

The RCA Airenergy unit converts the WiFi antenna signal to DC power to recharge its own internal lithium battery, so it automatically recharges itself whenever the device is anywhere near a WiFi hotspot. If you have a wireless network at home the Airenergy would recharge overnight virtually anywhere in your home. When you need to recharge your phone or other device you plug the Airenergy battery into the phone via USB to transfer the charge.

Who else thinks this is amazing? I’d love to see this technology go mainstream really soon. The RCA Airenergy will be available for $40.

I’ve only recently began to appreciate the awesomeness of using multiple monitors. I’ve always thought multiple monitors are overindulgent and for a mere blogger like me who doesn’t dabble in graphics design or video editing, a single monitor seemed enough. That is, of course until I tried setting up a nice multi-monitor setup on my laptop and I swear, I feel more productive. Dual monitors are also attributed to a 30-50% rise in productivity, so I really wanted to try that setup. Now that I use dual monitors, I don’t know how I can live and work without it.

Now remember, I’m using a laptop. Which, obviously is a portable system. And monitors aren’t exactly the most portable stuff to carry around. In fact, I’d like to meet somebody carrying around an extra monitor on a daily basis. Anyway, if a secondary mnitor that you can carry around everywhere is what you’re looking for, then the CINQ might be the gadget for you.

The CINQ is a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel LCD screen (16:9 aspect ratio!) that you can connect to your computer via USB. The CINQ also comes with a stand and an attachment so you can mount your mini-LCD screen to your laptop. If you’re going to use a netbook, it’ll obviously topple over if you attach it, so you’re better off using the stand. Aside from it being an extra monitor, it also has an SD card reader built in.

The CINQ uses up to 2.8W of power and displays 262k colors. The display will sell for $249, although CINQ is offering $50 off that price for customers who pre-order now.

[CINQ]