Crunchpad "prototype" up for sale? We say fake
We're not entirely sure what's going on here, but it looks as though a Chinese firm is attempting to sell what are claimed to be prototypes of the Crunchpad internet tablet. Reminiscent of the "Prototype B" design, rather than the newer renders TechCrunch have been displaying, the confusing product page and Windows OS leads us to suspect that this is more about borrowing Crunchpad hype than it is selling off prototype designs.
The listing mixes Intel's Atom N270 and the company's 945GSE chipset with VIA graphics, as well as showing the device running Windows XP rather than the Linux-based OS the official Crunchpad will deliver. The first gen Crunchpad was intended to use a VIA CPU, though they've since switched to using an Atom processor.
Most damning, though, is the price. TechCrunch insist that they'll be bringing the Crunchpad in at roughly $300, while this Chinese firm is offering prices between around $278 and $365 depending on volume ordered. Factor in mark-up costs for whichever brave firm decided to distribute them, and it's not looking good.