Chumby: the web on your Alarm Clock
Here at FLYABYTE we talk about a lot about having your services and data available through any of your devices. Well, Chumby takes this vision to the extreme.
Chumby is a fluffy, touch-screen, wi-fi media device that provides you access to many web services, as stated on their website:
It's a window into your Internet life that lives outside your desktop, so content like weather, news, celebrity gossip, podcasts, music, and more has a place to play away from your world of documents and spreadsheets. Just plug in your chumby, connect to your network, and use your computer to create a lineup of favorites from over 1,200 widgets in more than 30 categories, with new ones arriving all the time. Then let your chumby do its thing—streaming everything you like, from sports scores to stock tips, from video clips to interactive games, from photos to trivia.
You can use Chumby to access popular services such as GMail, Facebook and Flickr. You can also play games using the built-in accelerometer. Here are the detailed specs:
- 3.5" LCD color touchscreen
- Two external USB 2.0 full-speed ports
- 350 MHz ARM processor
- 64 MB SDRAM
- 64 MB 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
Chumby sells for USD $199,95, and is available in 6 colors. Since you can get an iPod Touch for $20 more (and take as extras a ton of extra storage + mobility), I wonder who should be the target for the device. Well, if your are looking for a cool and different squeezable device, Chumby might be your next gadget. Another advantage compared to the Touch is that it can play Flash files.
Learn more about Chumby here. Ah, by the way, Chumby also offers an Alarm Clock as one of its services.
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