CrunchPad in the 'DeadPool', left with legal hurdles

CrunchPad Tablet PC by TechCrunch and FusionGarage. (Credit: TechCrunch)

The CrunchPad Tablet PC has “self destructed” and is now “in the DeadPool” just weeks before its public launch, according to TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington.

TechCrunch's partner in making the CrunchPad, Singapore-based FusionGarage, broke off plans ahead of the set Nov. 20 launch, Arrington said in a posting titled “The End of the CrunchPad” on his site Monday.

Arrington said the "entire project self-destructed" because of "miscommunication" and other issues with FusionGarage.

"It was so close I could taste it," he said in his posting. "Two weeks ago we were ready to publicly launch the CrunchPad. The device was stable enough for a demo.”

CrunchPad Tablet PC by TechCrunch and FusionGarage. (Credit: TechCrunch)

Arrington described FusionGarage's actions as "the equivalent of Foxconn, who build the iPhone, notifiying Apple a couple of days before launch that they'd be moving ahead and selling the iPhone directly without any involvement from Apple."

FusionGarage is not legally allowed to sell the CrunchPad without approval from TechCrunch, Arrington contended.

"We jointly own the CrunchPad product intellectual property, and we solely own the CrunchPad trademark. So it's legally impossible for them to simply build and sell the device without our agreement," he wrote.

The project to create a 12-inch Web surfing device began in the summer of 2008. By April this year, the partners had built "Prototype C" of what they dubbed the CrunchPad, and by the proposed November launch date, they had a CruchPad that "was stable enough for a demo," according to Arrington. The device was set to cost between $300 and $400.