TechCrunch has run a dubious-sounding piece , quoting sources as saying Amazon’s working on a scheme to give each Amazon Prime user a free Kindle. With an annual membership to Prime costing $79 for extra-fast shipping, they’d be losing $120 from the retail value of the first-gen Kindle. While I don’t think it’ll be offered to the one-month trial members, it would definitely encourage more Prime sign-ups—and therefore, more Amazon purchases. Still, to give away a free Kindle sounds way too generous, even for Amazon. [ TechCrunch ]

Google’s already said you’ll need to buy a Chrome OS machine if you want it officially, but if TechCrunch’s sources are right , they could be launching Google-branded hardware for the platform, much like they’re doing with the Nexus One . Sure, you may’ve already downloaded an early Chrome OS build on your current machine, but unless you want it to be your sole platform, and running just the way Google intended, then you’ll need to buy the official hardware. Acer’s stated its intent to be first with a product release, presumably at the tail-end of next year, but ASUS, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba are also involved in the Chrome OS project too. A “request for proposal” has already been issued to potential suppliers, such as those mentioned above, supposedly listing the specifications Google would like to see in that first netbook. Google is believed to be working with just the one manufacturer, to build the ideal netbook.

Okay, well here we go. Michael Arrington says he filed a lawsuit yesterday against Fusion Garage over the CrunchPad / Joojoo situation, and he’s helpfully provided a copy of the complaint, which alleges false advertising, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of business ideas, fraud, and unlawful business practices. You’ll notice that list doesn’t include any breach of contract or intellectual property claims — a fair departure from what Michael said he’d be suing over , but not entirely surprising since it doesn’t seem like there was any contract here at all. Let’s take a quick skim through the rest of the complaint, shall we? Continue reading TechCrunch sues Fusion Garage over the Joojoo — we break it down TechCrunch sues Fusion Garage over the Joojoo — we break it down originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:28:00 EST

The JooJoo, which used to be called the CrunchPad until its official unveiling this morning is a tablet. An internet tablet. But there are still a lot of things left uncertain. Here’s what we do know. 1.

We’re just getting settled in for Fusion Garage’s CrunchPad webcast — we’ve been promised CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan’s version of the 12-inch tablet’s bizarre saga , and we’ve certainly got quite a few questions of our own to ask. We’ll start updating just as soon as it starts, so make sure you’re up to speed on what went down over the weekend and get ready for some fireworks. Continue reading Fusion Garage CrunchPad video conference liveblog Fusion Garage CrunchPad video conference liveblog originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

The strange saga of the CrunchPad is getting even stranger: although Fusion Garage has a press conference scheduled for Monday , the company’s apparently been hinting to some members of the press that the split with Michael Arrington was no surprise, and that TechCrunch didn’t actually contribute anything of value to the CrunchPad. As you’d expect, that’s got Arrington on the warpath. In a post titled “CrunchPad Litigation Imminent,” he offers up an email from Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan and two letters dispatched from his lawyers to both Fusion Garage and would-be CrunchPad ODM Pegatron that paint a much different picture: Chandra calls the split “out of the blue,” Pegatron won’t produce anything without TechCrunch’s “explicit approval,” and there was apparently even talk of merger between Fusion Garage and Arrington’s CrunchPad, Inc. That certainly puts the timeline into dispute, but Mike’s various CrunchPad intellectual property claims are far less solid, and unexpectedly weak — even if you completely accept Arrington’s side of the story, his CrunchPad dealings don’t reflect his reputation as a bulldog Silicon Valley attorney. Let’s break ‘em down: Arrington claims he’s the “outright owner of the CrunchPad trademark,” but that’s simply not true: the CrunchPad trademark was only applied for on November 17, the same day Arrington says Fusion Garage notified him of the split

The strange saga of the CrunchPad is getting even stranger: although Fusion Garage has a press conference scheduled for Monday , the company’s apparently been hinting to some members of the press that the split with Michael Arrington was no surprise, and that TechCrunch didn’t actually contribute anything of value to the CrunchPad. As you’d expect, that’s got Arrington on the warpath. In a post titled “CrunchPad Litigation Imminent,” he offers up an email from Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan and two letters dispatched from his lawyers to both Fusion Garage and would-be CrunchPad ODM Pegatron that paint a much different picture: Chandra calls the split “out of the blue,” Pegatron won’t produce anything without TechCrunch’s “explicit approval,” and there was apparently even talk of merger between Fusion Garage and Arrington’s CrunchPad, Inc. That certainly puts the timeline into dispute, but Mike’s various CrunchPad intellectual property claims are far less solid, and unexpectedly weak — even if you completely accept Arrington’s side of the story, his CrunchPad dealings don’t reflect his reputation as a bulldog Silicon Valley attorney. Let’s break ‘em down: Arrington claims he’s the “outright owner of the CrunchPad trademark,” but that’s simply not true: the CrunchPad trademark was only applied for on November 17, the same day Arrington says Fusion Garage notified him of the split. Oops — and even stranger because Arrington’s said the CrunchPad was due to be launched on November 20 .

Michael Arrington may have declared the CrunchPad dead , but that’s not stopping his former partners at FusionGarage, who’ve scheduled a video conference with CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan so he can “share his side of the story.” Chandra will also be demonstrating the 12-inch capacitive web tablet — which, somewhat amazingly, will be the first time we’ve ever seen proof that the elusive device actually even exists and functions. We’re definitely curious to hear what Chandra has to say and how he rebuts Arrington’s grandiose and melodramatic tale of woe, but let’s be honest — we’re also at least mildly suspicious that this whole mess is just a calculated PR stunt. Stay tuned. FusionGarage plans media event to tell its side of the CrunchPad story originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Michael Arrington ’s ambitious project to create a super-simple web tablet is dead, drowned in a bathtub half-full of greed and selfishness. This isn’t a happy story. It wasn’t because of high costs, as previously rumored . Essentially, Arrington got screwed.

Steve Ballmer’s talk at Microsoft’s Venture Capital Summit yesterday may have only been open to a select few , but non-VCs can now get the next best thing courtesy of TechCruch , which got a chance to sit down with Ballmer following the event. In the wide-ranging interview, Ballmer discusses Microsoft’s new “three screens and a cloud” strategy, which he describes as a “fundamental shift in the computing paradigm” (and can’t help but compare to Three Men and a Baby ), as well as Microsoft’s “fun year” with things like Bing, Windows 7, and Project Natal, and Microsoft’s future acquisition strategy (it’ll probably buy about another 15 companies next year). Of particular note, Ballmer also went some way to dampen any talk of a Microsoft-banded phone , saying that while an Apple or RIM can “do just fine,” Microsoft still thinks a software play is right for them in such a high volume market — noting that, “when 1.3 billion phones a year are all smart, the software that’s gonna be most popular in those phones is gonna be software that’s sold by somebody who doesn’t make their own phone.” Head on past the break to see the whole thing for yourself. Continue reading Steve Ballmer talks ‘three screens and a cloud’ and more with TechCrunch Filed under: Cellphones , Software Steve Ballmer talks ‘three screens and a cloud’ and more with TechCrunch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:57:00 EST.