VentureBeat

It may not be much to look at, but CherryPal’s new device — a $249 paperback-sized box containing an underpowered processor and a token amount of memory — is a forerunner of the oncoming revolution in “cloud” computing.

You just stick in any keyboard or mouse with a USB connector and any standard monitor (VGA), and you’re up and running.

Of course, being one of the first to do something doesn’t equate to being successful at it. But the CherryPal should excite anyone who believes that the average computer of the future will not only be Internet-connected, but also Internet-controlled. The CherryPal, set to begin shipping at the end of this month, is a true cloud computer, meaning almost all if its applications and data are stored online.

A cloud computer is desirable for a few reasons. One is that small chips like the CherryPal’s 400 MHz Freescale processor can handle more tasks with the help of an outside server. Individual devices almost never need upgrades, and are harder to infect with viruses. Upgrades are also possible without replacing the computer, and files are accessible from anywhere. And the CherryPal requires only two watts to run, much less than a normal computer.

Those reasons are why CherryPal hopes its device can rise past the more powerful competition to win a spot in the hearts of consumers. CEO Max Seybold says he hopes that students and less computer-savvy people will latch onto CherryPal as an alternative to traditional computers.

Computing experts will likely suggest that it’s most useful as a secondary device to a home desktop or laptop. That’s probably true for you or I, but a substantial population of people who don’t care about computing power may be perfectly satisfied using only a CherryPal. However, there’s a wide array of competition awaiting the new device.

Among them are companies like Apple, with its Mac Mini, and Shuttle, which sells the KPC starting at $229. There’s also Zonbu, which has a “hybrid” system that goes partway toward cloud computing for $299 — although getting all the features of the cloud requires an extra subscription fee, while CherryPal’s is free.

CherryPal plans to market its device as being both simpler to operate than other computers and, because of its light construction and low energy use, as a “green” computer. However, it’s also not the first to use that approach. Wal-Mart said the same about its Everex gPC, which runs a version of Linux customized to hook up to Google Apps. Despite quickly selling out of its first run of 10,000 computers, Wal-Mart was dissatisfied with the results and stopped offering it in stores. It still sells the gPC online, for $150.

Seybold says the CherryPal will offer better performance than such down-market systems, similar to a 2GHz computer running Windows Vista (unlike Windows, Seybold says the CherryPal is “unhackable”). But because of the wide array of competition, CherryPal’s success will hinge on its marketing efforts, which is more of an artistic than technical endeavor.

Still, the release of the CherryPal is an interesting first stab at a cloud device. Along with web-based operating systems like Gh.o.st and Pi, the CherryPal may help blaze a path away from the major device-based operating systems, Mac OS and Windows, each of which has its share of problems.

And for computer manufacturers, the CherryPal presents a whole different set of problems. Mike Bryars, a global manager at Freescale, says his company will do well selling chips for “embedded” computing. “Traditional PCs are great for productivity, but they’re not optimal devices. Why do people buy iPods when they can listen to MP3s on a laptop? At the end of the day, it’s a better device,” he says.

Computer makers like Dell won’t be pleased with the idea of having a device for each application, when they want to sell expensive, full-featured systems instead; smaller devices are generally assumed to offer lower margins. However, when I asked Seybold whether his company could survive without hitting its target of hundreds of thousands to millions of units sold, he said that it could still turn a profit on “ridiculously few” units sold if necessary.

CherryPal, based in Mountain View, Calif., raised its funding outside the US. It has taken over $5 million so far, from a Hong Kong-based private equity firm called Tristate and a group of angels in the United Kingdom.

Here’s the latest action:

Barack Obama gets big Silicon Valley names behind him — Obama has picked up checks from Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz, Google backer Ram Shriram, YouTube founder Chad Hurley and many more, making him an early valley favorite, at least among the area’s power players. Thanks to Eric Savitz, of Barrons, who has sifted through Federal Election Committee filings.

MySpace.com launches Mexico site — It is here.

TomTom, the Dutch maker of navigation devices, plans to buy Tele Atlas, its supplier of digital road maps, for $2.77 billion — WSJ has details.

Big search engines dash to ensure more data privacy — It’s no coincidence they’re all moving at the same time. Google’s privacy practices are under scrutiny by regulators assessing Google’s planned purchase of DoubleClick, so the others are scrambling to win points. At least on the surface, Google is dusted by the latest moves from Microsoft, Yahoo and Ask. Yahoo, for example, rolls out a policy to make all of a user’s search data anonymous within 13 months of receiving it, compared to Google’s 18 months. Ask, in particular, wins privacy kudos. Its Ask Eraser program lets you delete your history entirely. See Microsoft’s press release.

Google News’ strange story of the President having his “Butt”checked out — Google may want to reconsider the sources it is selecting from.

Europe’s odd search-engine technology subsidies — The European Union authorized Germany to give $165 million for research on European search-engine technology projects in an effort to challenge Google. We say odd, because subsidies to produce these sorts of technologies, already developed by private companies, is a waste of tax dollars. The French and Germans have already squabbled about the direction to take the European Theseus/Quaero search project. This latest money will go to Siemens, SAP, Deutsche Thomson and EMPOLIS, owned by Bertelsmann AG. Later, it will go to smaller businesses. (Details)

SocialText, the wiki company, looking for a new CEO — Ross Mayfield, founder of the Palo Alto, Calif. company, writes a post on his blog saying the company is looking to “take it to the next level.”

SimplyHired’s questionable relationship with WhenU — The job search engine SimplyHired is rumored to have bought “pop-under” advertisements WhenU that artificially boost its traffic, according to Techcrunch. We contacted SimplyHired chief executive Dion Lim for comment. Interestingly, he did not deny it: “Our traffic has actually been growing from a variety of sources (user experience improvements, Job-a-matic, SEO, SEM, major partners),” he responded in an email. “Also, our online marketing team is always exploring different options but can’t dive deeper into it since we don’t want to tip our hand for obvious reasons. It’s certainly in Simply Hired’s best interest, however, to preserve user experience…” The practice also raises questions about the traffic measuring technology of Compete, Alexa and other tracking services that appear to count WhenU-produced traffic. ComScore doesn’t, one more reason you’re seeing VentureBeat increasingly relying on Comscore data.

Ron Conway, Google’s angel investor, backs Event Robot — The company provides social networks for large businesses. EventRobot is a nine-person two-year-old startup that says it is profitable, and has just moved to San Francisco from Irvine, Calif. The first network is for Ozzy Osbourne’s OZFest (AlarmClock)

Bebo opening up its platform to developers? — The move would follow Facebook’s radical move to open its platform to developers to allow them to make money. Story is here. Separately, check out Dave McClure’s wild rant about Facebook being the Web equivalent of Microsoft’s Visual Basic. McClure is a valley brass-knuckled marketing type, having worked for several Silicon Valley companies to evangelize their product. This post’s emotional tone overcame annoying graphics to place it on top of Techmeme over the weekend.

Twitter is about to announce a VC round — We reported the company was raising money. Now we hear that Charles River Ventures has invested, and that the round is about done. That CRV is backing Evan Williams (owner of Obvious, which controls Twitter) shows the split between Williams and CRV over his last company, Obvious, was amicable.

The Segway film sponsored by Segway — The marketers of the movie 10 MPH sent us an email pitch about the film, calling it a story of “day to day courage” as two men, Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell, journey across America on their high-tech Segway scooters. They beat “incredible odds, risking everything they have, cashing in retirement and maxing out credit cards to carve out this new path in life,” the email continued. Hunter Weeks, also a director of the film, is quoted: “This film transcends the audience and its message needs to be heard.” Somehow, with Segway a sponsor, we have difficulty believing this was that selfless. More details here. [Update: The marketing firm tells us Segway became a sponsor only after the trip]

Zonbu, the energy efficient PC company — The Mercury News has the scoop on the Menlo Park, Calif. based company that is charging only $99 for a basic computer and $12.95 a month for data storage that uses 20 times less power than standard computers.