Every once in awhile I get the urge to buy something for no other reason then because it hits some deep seated need for a something shiny. When I first saw mention of the Chumby a few years back it seemed like an interesting but rather expensive diversion. I could think of a few more important things to spend my allegedly hard earned $199 on.
Than a month or so ago I caught an offer from the Makershed site that mentioned Chumby guts for $100. A bit better and it included everything but the case. I was intrigued and attempted to buy it but it almost instantly sold out. So i put myself on a waiting list and by the time the next batch rolled in the price had drifted off north of $130. It left the realm of impulse buy and entered the “I have to think about it” realm.
Fast forward and I get wind of a new offering from those folks at Chumby Industries called the Chumby One. I am peaked, the least of which by a “we are out of stock but if you wait we will eventually ship price of $99″. Impulse engines on full, I went on line, entered the trusty old credit card number and got myself on the waiting list.
Many weeks later, I now am the proud papa of a brand spanking new, Chumby One. First off I should state, as a few other reviewers have mentioned, that this is not a must have. Nope, my iPhone takes care of just about everything it does. Actually, so does my laptop, PC and my Ambient Weather station. So what exactly does this thing fit? Glad you asked! Its just one of those things that eventually becomes a part of your life that you hardly notice.
Example you may ask? Sure… I have the little critter on my night table, next to my bed. I have it set to go dark around 11pm at night during the week. At about 5:45am, a few minutes before I wake up, it dimly lights up, displaying todays weather, news, time and sports scores all over a 5 minute cycle of widgets. So I get to watch a little quiet TV, get my fill of what I need to know for the day, all without leaving my bed. Its also an alarm clock so if I had not already bought an iHome clock radio for my iPhone, this pretty well would have become my primary wakeup call.
So what is Chumby? Its an open source Linux based WiFi enabled flash engine. Its widgets are server based flash applications. And the kicker? They are all free. Chumby itself, though not free, (Its currently going for $119 with free shipping on there site), but the company is doing their darnedest to keep it that way. You’ll find everything from internet streaming music services like Pandora to a view of your Facebook page, Google mail, calendar, Netflix queue etc… Thousands of them actually. Chumby at this point seems to get their money from selling the units and interspersing a paid advertisement widget from time to time. Not a bad compromise.
The unit itself looks like a 70’s Television. It has an ARM based processor, 2GB of flash memory, a USB jack, stereo out and can be portable if you buy a separately available rechargeable battery. The screen is a 3.5 inch touch which is good because with the exception of a large volume wheel on the right hand side and an on off button in the back, the touch screen is how you interact with Mr Chumby. It connects to the internet via WiFi and supports both WEP and WPA security. There is a little activation dance you do with your computer. You will also need a computer because the only way to get content onto a Chumby is via their web site. That in turn is delivered to the unit via the internet.
On the Chumby, you have a bit of control. You can set custom alarms, delete widgets (Though you cannot add them), play with a bunch of other settings like volume, brightness and of course the streaming radio stations.
How does it perform? As radio, its quite good, considering its mono speaker is putting out the sound. I have not yet tried hooking a pair of stereo speakers to it but as long as they are powered, I imagine it should be fine. On the unit itself, the Widgets, perform with zip. I’ve even run videos through it, like the late show’s top ten list, and it worked with nary a stutter. Would I want to watch full length movies on it? Probably not, but for the clips I do, very acceptable. Case is well made and well put together and it even includes an FM radio.
The verdict? I’m not very tranparent here. I like it from that little geeky place I keep in my heart. Its small, totally endearing and all in all a pretty cool gadget to have.