"A major multi-billion dollar retail partner has been [..] offering to sell the CrunchPad at a zero margin to help us succeed in the early days. They were also willing to pay for the devices on order instead of 30 days after delivery, a crucial cash flow benefit [..] Intel [..] has assisted us repeatedly with engineering and partner advice, and gave us pricing that was ridiculously generous [..] Other partners were eager to promote and sell the device for little or no benefit on their end other than “supporting the project.”"

Does anyone see a problem here? You think TechCrunch would be able to honestly report on these "partners" while being in such close relationship with them?