Some of us may remember hearing about $188 Android tablet called the Cherrypad back in September. If you have not heard of the Cherrypal produced Cherrypad, here are some quick specs. The Cherrypad is said to feature a 800mhz ARM11 processor, 256RAM, 2GB of internal storage, and running Android 2.1 with full access to the Android Market. Sounds to good to be true for $188, right? Well you may be correct.

People who have order the Cherrypad have yet to release their device, even though the news of the Cherrypad was released back in September. Crunchgear.com reports that one man, excepted that his device should be shipped by Oct 15th. The date rolled by with nothing, until Oct 20th, when he received a tracking number. Unfortunately, this tracking number does not track any package within UPS, Fedex, DHL, or USPS databases. He wrote to Crunchgear with this statement:

The Cherrypal “Support” forum (if you can call it that: replies to questions are not permitted, except by the Administrator, and it appears to actually be a polling platform) is increasingly showing posts from people who have received neither their Cherrypad nor their tracking number. In response, the Administrator claims the delay was caused by a typhoon in the Philippines and that everything is fine and users in California and Italy have received their units. Oh, and the “forum” cleverly substitutes the word “issue” when one types “scam”.

Today purchasers of the Cherrypad received an email from Zecozi, Cherrypal’s e commerce provider. The Zecozi rep wrote:

I have nothing negative to say about Cherrypal as I believe their products are great and I am sure you would be happy with them once they arrive. My concern is that we are receiving many emails and calls form individuals who are not happy that they have not received their product yet and they think we are the ones who are shipping it to them. Our reputation is paramount to us and we want your experience to be the best it can be.

I did some quick investigating of Cherrypal myself. A Better Business Bureau search shows a US branch in Palo Alto, CA. Cherrpay was given the BBB’s lowest rating of a F. To date, there are 18 complaints filed against Cherrypal with the Better Business Bureau. Of the 18 complaints, 13 are still unanswered by Cherrypal.

Cherrypal’s website shows a few different products, which included two 7″ netbooks powered by Android and WinCE. Looking at the pictures provided for each products, gave me a feeling they were used after a quick google image search. I say BUYER BEWARE and just stay away from this company.

Posted by John Rehse via CrunchGear.com