Such interface niceties may prove useful, and Fusion Garage has a bigger picture plan with its newly announced phone, too. But they have a tough hill to climb. Neither the pricing nor the specs/physical design appear to innovate (really, any advantage from that high-res screen and slightly pushed CPU gets cancelled out by the low memory and heavy, bulky design). Fusion Garage is far from a household name; consumers may be less likely to take a chance on a no name than on a tablet from a known quantity like HP. Android app compatibility will appeal to those who are more tech savvy; but if you're tech savvy, this may not be a fit for what you're looking for, either.

Ultimately, Fusion Garage's overproduced, faux press conference webcast; its clever and socially engaging parody campaign; and gimmicks like skywriting over San Francisco won't be what the company is judged by. The Grid10 itself will have to stand out in the crowd. And given the lack of Fusion Garage's mainstream name recognition, it looks as if the Grid10 will have to fight twice as hard as others to stand out, and even then it may not stand out for long beyond its 15 minutes of launch fame.