In a word, brilliant comes to mind. What TechCrunch has accomplished via crowdsourcing is nothing short of impressive. As Chris P. points out, not all crowdsourcing ideas do as well as the one seen with TechCrunch’s approach to an uber cheap touch screen web surfing device. But Chris also reminds us that battery life will be a factor in any future success with this low-cost mobile web surfing touch screen device.

In interest of helping TechCrunch branching out beyond the usual echo chamber, allow me to give them a fresh perspective. So long as the device is usable, can remain priced under $2oo USD and has at least two hours in it, there will be a demand for it. Period. The fact of the matter is NOT targeting the usual band of merry geeks will yield vastly more users should Tech Crunch opt to go forward. Keep the target market simple – a simple touch screen under $200 that can surf the web, check email, etc. Taking the “better specs” approach will make this device yet another geek toy, nothing more.

Think I am nuts? Believe there is no way in the world anyone outside of a few geeks might like such a device? You might be right, but I remember the same thing being said about the Kindle, the PDA and yes…even the notebook PC.