At first take, the Chumby looks like a giant hackey sack. Remember those things? Okay, well I do and it looks like a giant one with a touchscreen on it. I don’t love the look of these things, but it seems a lot of people do. It connects to the Chumby network via a wireless internet connection for tons of personalized content. Oh, and the source code is open.
Ok, first the specs:
- 3.5″ LCD color touchscreen
- iPod support
- Two external USB 2.0 full-speed ports
- 350MHz ARM processor
- 64MB SDRAM
- 64MB NAND flash ROM
- Stereo 2W speakers
- Headphone output
- Squeeze sensor
- Accelerometer (motion sensor)
- Leather casing
- AC adapter included
- Wi-fi connectivity
- Access to the free Chumby Network
- Over-the-air software updates
The Chumby has to be plugged in – which is a major drawback. But it has tons of widgets you can install – into channels. They have widgets involving stocks, animals, weather, sports, lifestyle, humor, email, auctions, etc. It can act as an alarm clock – waking you up to a music stream or podcast. You can also connect your iPod to it and play tunes. I’m sure future iterations will provide a better touchscreen, a rechargeable battery, and even more great widgets. And it will be interesting to see what hacks people come up since they are encouraging this. Heck, here’s a list of the Chumby’s source code. Gotta love that. And for around $179, these things will do okay in this iteration. I’m sure future ones will be better, cheaper, and faster.
What does it do when you squeeze it?