CrunchPad tablet landing “as soon as possible” for under $300

Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, has been beavering away on “an Internet consumption device,” dubbed the CrunchPad. We have already seen a number of prototype pictures and now it looks like we are gearing up for a full retail release. He told the NY Times Bits Blog, that an event would be held at the end of July or early August to make a big CrunchPad announcement. He also confirmed that the device would cost less than $300 and be on sale “as soon as possible.”

This news follows a report from the San Francisco Business Times that said Arrington had set up a separate company called CrunchPad Inc. The company, based in Singapore, will employ a total of 14 employees according to the report. The CrunchPad has been dubbed “Mike’s science project,” of which he has spent two-thirds of his time working on it over the last six months. The device will have a 12-inch display that is flush with the aluminium case and come in different colours. It will be just 16mm in thickness and be powered by an unspecified Intel Atom processor and support Adobe Flash.