JooJoo slate specification revealed — Intel Atom + NVIDIA Ion

It’s been a bit quiet on the JooJoo (née CrunchPad) front since the makers Fusion Garage fell out with TechCrunch. Now that the 12.1” slate computer is nearing its on-sale date though, some solid information is starting to appear.

The latest comes from the FCC in the US, who, as part of its testing and approvals process, has just published a few documents about the device that outline its specification. In short, the JooJoo has an Intel Atom N270 processor, NVIDIA Ion graphics and onboard 3G, although there’s some confusion about whether or not this latter feature will make it into the first generation of devices.

This netbook-like specification has lead to some speculation about the JooJoo’s battery life. The FCC hasn’t released details about the battery capacity, but an interior shot shows what appears to be a large, flat cell sitting on top of the motherboard. Some cynics reckon that this means the JooJoo will only be good for three hours or so away from the mains — some way short of the Apple iPad’s claimed 10-hour battery life.

According to Engadget, Fusion Garage has also polished the JooJoo’s user interface to make it look more presentable and revamped some of the multi-touched gestures to improve ease of use. Flash is also reported to be fully functional, which is just as well given that the JooJoo’s proprietary operating system is unlikely to appeal to developers.

The Fusion Garage JooJoo is scheduled to start shipping in the US for $499 from 25 March, but there’s no news yet on UK availability.

[via Engadget]