JooJoo Tablet Shipping This Month, Full Flash Support And App Store At Launch

The iPad may have taken the media by storm, but the JooJoo, formerly known as the CrunchPad, is back, and hot on Apple's heels.  The JooJoo's starting off full production, that's right and maker Fusion Garage has announced that the product is set to start shipping this month.

Fusion Garage CEO Chandra revealed that they've teamed up with Malaysia's largest OEM, CSL Group, to cover the tablet manufacturing costs; in return CSL will get a slice of the revenue pie.  And read this, it's confirmed that the tablet will feature full Flash support at launch, and even HD Flash content once Flash 10.1 is released.

The other thing?  A web app store is in the works, Chandra claiming "We have a bigger 'app store' than Apple because we have the full Internet,".  Apparently JooJoo means along the lines of "magical" in African – which is how Steve Jobs exactly described the iPad.  And they cost the same at $499 each.  The JooJoo may have a larger 12-inch screen compared to the iPad's 9.7-incher, but who knows what Apple may concoct up – something larger, and even more "magical"?

FUSION GARAGE MOVES INTO FULL PRODUCTION OF BREAKTHROUGH JOOJOO Tablet

Innovative Manufacturing Agreement and Investment from CSL Group Helps

Reinvent Consumer Electronics Business Model

SINGAPORE, February 3, 2010 – Fusion Garage today announced that its category-creating JooJoo Internet tablet has moved into full production with initial shipments expected to reach consumers at the end of February. Helping fuel the JooJoo's arrival and Fusion Garage's next phase of corporate growth is an innovative manufacturing agreement and strategic investment from mobile device OEM and distribution giant CSL Group of Malaysia.

Fusion Garage is expected to announce a second round of investment within the next two weeks which would augment today's investment from CSL and the company's initial round secured in November 2009.

CSL, established in 1998, has rapidly grown to a major conglomerate, with sales of nearly $300M USD, and the organization is one of the largest manufacturers of cell phones, mobile devices, netbook and notebook computers in SE Asia.

The strategic relationship between the companies calls for CSL to absorb all up front manufacturing costs associated with JooJoo production. This agreement virtually eliminates the normal high cost of mass market entry – often in the tens of millions – for any emerging Consumer Electronics (CE) hardware developer. In exchange, CSL will receive a revenue royalty from each JooJoo sold globally. Additionally, CSL has made a strategic venture investment in Fusion Garage which will help the company to move to the next phase of its corporate growth and product development.

"This is landscape changing manufacturing agreement in the CE hardware market in much the same way Dell changed the PC business model with its direct to consumer sales approach back in the 1990s," said Fusion Garage founder and CEO, Chandrasekar (Chandra) Rathakrishnan. "CSL's confidence in JooJoo and strategic investment enables us to concentrate on the expansion of our organization, software development and, ultimately, building a world class CE company."

"We are justifiably bullish – not only on the promise of the JooJoo and the Internet tablet market's potential but also on Fusion Garage's forward looking vision," said Dato Eric Chuah, Chairman of the CSL Group of Companies. "We have an opportunity to expand our business via this relationship, enter a hot market with a trusted partner and turn the traditional CE hardware manufacturing model on its head. We are betting on volume here and firmly believe our bet will be a winner."

About JooJoo

JooJoo, officially introduced in December 2009, is the category-creating Web tablet that provides near instantaneous Internet access and the best online experience. The African word "joujou" means magical object and Fusion Garage's JooJoo brings users into an online world where everything on the Internet is just a single touch away. Powered by Fusion Garage's innovative browser-based operating system, JooJoo enables users to quickly and easily tap into Internet applications, news, music, high definition video, social media and web services. JooJoo has revolutionary hardware, including the largest capacitive touch screen of any device on the market – 12.1 inches –providing full screen content viewing. Its ultra-portable, ultra-thin design offers the best Internet experience anywhere – on the couch or on the go, standing or sitting. JooJoo's gesture-based user interface allows easy transitions between Websites and turns pages in a digital publication via the movement of a finger. A full-size touch keyboard appears when users need it, and disappears when viewing content or paging through digital content. JooJoo is available directly from Fusion Garage at www.thejoojoo.com.

About Fusion Garage

Fusion Garage enables the best Internet experience through innovative software and hardware devices. Founded in 2008, Fusion Garage's core browser-based operating system provides near instantaneous Internet access and has spurred the development of an entirely new category of consumer electronics devices dedicated to online usage. Fusion Garage is based in Singapore and is privately funded.