Hasta La Gadget!

After a few false starts and some controversy over refunds, JooJoo–the tablet formerly known as CrunchPad–has finally started shipping.

Fusion Garage, the Singapore-based company behind JooJoo, says its tablets are now on their way to U.S. customers who pre-ordered them. JooJoo fans who pre-ordered the device should get it by Monday, March 29.

That’s interesting timing for JooJoo. Apple’s iPad will be available to consumers starting April 3. The $500 JooJoo is similar to the iPad in terms of looks. But it has a 12.1-inch touchscreen display, compared to the iPad’s 9.7 inch touchscreen. The JooJoo is Wi-Fi capable but offers no 3G connectivity option. It does, however, support full Flash. The tablets can be bought only from JooJoo’s website.

Earlier this month, JooJoo revamped its user interface and changed its home screen to display a polished grid of icons. It now includes features such as different sized virtual keyboards, one of which is designed for one-handed operation.

Still, it is unlikely that the JooJoo can beat Apple’s marketing machine for the iPad or ink the kind of deals that Apple has with book publishers and content providers to make the iPad more than just a web browsing device.

See Also:

• Hands On With the JooJoo, Formerly Known as CrunchPad
• JooJoo Tablet Faces Uphill Battle Against iPad
• JooJoo Tablet Gets a Makeover Before Launch
• Startup Disses Arrington, Relaunches CrunchPad Tablet as JooJoo
• iPad Could See 50 Tablet Rivals This Year

Photo: JooJoo (Jim Merithew/Wired.com)