Chumby – willing to listen? Yep.

If any of you visit Chumby’s official site and follow the forums and read their blog, you know that they are committed to helping Chumby be all it can be for their customers.  Post a question or complaint in the forum, and you’ll likely get a reply by a “Chumbian” who is willing to listen to you and offer assistance, even. Read their blog and see that they are constantly working on making Chumby better.  One gripe I hear pretty often is about the power cord.  Well, Chumby is listening, and it sounds like they are working on making Chumby portable, just because it is a frequent request. Amazing. You can’t get support like that and an honest interest in improvements for most “new” products… and how easy, too. Right there on the forum. Makes me love the little Chumby even more. I think he’s gonna stick around.

Chumby’s Initial boot

Setting up your new Chumby:

The first time Chumby is powered on, it allows you to set your time zone and choose an available WiFi connection, and then reboots which takes around 45 seconds. Then, the device settings can be accessed by pressing the button on the top of the chumby (the control panel will be launched).  You can cycle through the installed widgets, mute the speaker, toggle the screen off (night mode), launch the interface, change the time / date settings and also bring up the secondary settings screen.

 
The secondary settings screen displays Chumby’s software version and network addresses.  Volume levels, screen brightness, touchscreen calibration, and reconnect to a WiFi access point can be modified. The new settings are saved in memory, even if Chumby loses power.

Chumby comes with a Black and White digital clock that includes a date display.  Accessing through the control panel, we can set the clock settings such as time, date, time zone, and two alarms.  And there are three alarm sounds to choose from.  Some people replaced these three alarm sounds with an .MP3 file by using the USB port to copy the files into the chumby’s file system. You can customize the alarm duration from 0 to 60 minutes.

The cool thing about Chumby is that you can just touch the LCD screen to turn off the alarm or snooze it. You can also use the top button. It gives a sleepy head like me an easier time to go on sleeping.  Your conventional alarm clock has only one option (press some button).  You can also just ignore the alarm as it will shut off after your set snooze time. The down side of Chumby is that ignoring the alarm is like turning it off (no longer alarming again).  Another neat feature is that you can customize the alarm to ring at different times each day of the week, if want.  (Make it nice if you have a day off during the week!)

 

Chumby gadget vs. iPod

Chumby is 100% hackable and designed to be from the start; unlike Apple iPod, it is user accessible.
The hardware housings can be easily modified and changed to the liking of a hacker. You can also modify the PCB “guts” as they are protected by Creative Commons Licenses not to mention the open source.

I am hoping the Chumby becomes wildly popular, and if it does, I think there will be a lot of accessories available. Already they have screen shields available on Amazon, and charms available on the Chumby website.  I think there will be more add-ons, and I REALLY hope there will be a rechargable battery soon.  I do believe that Chumby will be continually working to keep the Chumby competitive.

iPod may be able to play some videos, but its not customizable and interactive in the way that Chumby is.  iPod has been around for years, and they keep improving it and coming out with new features and it still cannot compare with the Chumby.  iPod price varies greatly, but to purchase one to play video and MP3, they are not cheap. Chumby is a more affordable gadget and, as I have said, does more.

So dontcha want one?  

Chumby – gadget of the hackers’ world

The design philosophy of the Chumby gadget was intended for the open source community to interact on both the hardware and software. In other words, the idea of hacking into this gadget brings further popularity from the interest of Linux community and other programmers all over the world. It is hacker-friendly, easily customizable, and built on the Linux platform. The strategy is to encourage Chumby users to hack the device and offer small apps, but to not use the hardware in ways that jeopardize its creator.
The idea is geared toward customer-driven and customer-designed perspective, in respect to the current philosophy that says: the customer is always right. The customer uses and creates widgets for themselves and other customers. Widgets are little add-on software “packages” that allow users to easily customize their product to function in the way they want. Some of the most popular widgets that work on Chumby are:
1. Google News
2. Google Calendar
3. flickr Photo Viewer
4. Daily Horoscope
5. digg
6. Digital Clock
7. Internet Radio
8. Slashdot
9. ShamuCam
10. Make Magazine

And here is an example of a widget that was created, proving is hack-ability:

Tomorrow, I’ll contrast the Chumby with other devices, such as the iPod. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.

Chumby Gadget on-the-go?

As many of you saw the Chumby gadget’s size and dimension compared to a coffee mug on my previous post, Chumby is a compact device and it is convenient for you to access the internet without powering up your laptop or always searching for a public computer to access the Internet, you can easily carry it with and go. (Provided you have a WiFi connection and a power source – see below.)

Many of you are questioning the $175 -$200 price tag onto this baby is a little too steep – but it comes with a great deal, especially since it includes FREE access to the Chumby Network. No subscriptions, no plans, it’s all paid for because of the price you are paying ahead of time, and the inobtrusive ads that display on the Chumby.  You are also getting new exciting widgets for free.  (Just think of all this gadget can do!) The competition may force Chumby gadget to drop its price but probably not that much.  I suggest people who are considering one should grab one up while they are available, since I believe this gadget is going to be a hot product this Christmas.  You might be out of luck trying to get one if you wait, as popularity increases.

One complaint I have heard from Chumby gadget consumers is the lack of a rechargable battery; it runs on AC power. The reason behind this is because it’s always on; no sleep mode.  A 9-volt battery, if installed may help in a short term power – outage.  I will have to say the battery life will not be long with this gadget!

Chumby Gadget – Create Your Virtual Chumby

I was doing some more research on the Chumby gadget last night and decided to finally create my own virtual Chumby on the Chumby website. After I registered I had fun browsing through the different widgets available, and spent time customizing them and re-ordering them for display. There are several different categories, such as games, technology, educational, humor, news, entertainment, and calendars. There is also a Chumby category that shows specific tips on how to use your Chumby if you need help.

Here are some cool pictures and widgets found on Chumby:

To create your own virtual Chumby, visit the site: www.chumby.com

To those of you who already own a Chumby, what do you like best about it? If you could suggest an improvement, what would it be?

Chumby gadget… continued

Greetings, Chumby gadget fans. I have been looking up more and more info on the Chumby, and I am still impressed. Understandably, we all want to know as much as possible about this cute little device before investing in one, so if you are hungry for more Chumby news, read on!

Blogs and videos are popping up all over the web, yet many people still have not run into Chumby! I can’t believe some of my techie friends look at me with a blank expression when I ask them if they have gotten themselves a Chumby gadget yet. So I say: well, friend, let me introduce you! (And if you haven’t already, please view the video on my previous post.)

I love the Chumby not because its the hot new gadget out there, but because of what you can do with it. Let’s get creative, people!! The Chumby encourages it. Its not merely the best alarm clock. Its great for listening to music, playing games, sharing photos, and even more “serious” applications such as checking the stock market and sports scores.

With the Chumby, there is something for everyone, and because you can personalize it, you don’t have to be like everyone else. Your Chumby will display the widgets YOU pick. There are lots to choose from on the Chumby website, www.chumby.com Just take a look, like I said, there is something there for everyone, and new widgets are being created all the time, so you won’t get bored. You can submit your own widget, or post ideas for new widgets on their forum.

Until next time – happy Chumby-ing!

Chumby gadget – gotta love it!

Say hello to Chumby: a wireless gadget that displays web content on your nightstand, kitchen table, desk, or even in your bathroom replacing big and bulky magazines. A few reasons the Chumby gadget will likely be on many Christmas lists this year:

1. Its cool, its new, and its a wireless wonder. It is like a widget box, hooking up through your WiFi, allowing the viewer a plethora of visual and auditory delights… you can see your local weather, photos, music, sports scores, stock info and many other things you would normally need to pull out your notebook for. Want to check your eBay bid? You can do that. Want to send pics to your buddy’s Chumby? You can do that. Facebook? MySpace? You betcha.

2. The features are nifty, too. Play your MP3s, wake up to internet radio, use the 3.5 inch color touch screen to play games. It includes a motion sensor, which I am told you can use to play certain games, too. (As a game lover, I was excited to hear that!)

3. Price. Its somewhat affordable, and you don’t need to use up any minutes from your mobile phone plan! For everything this device can do, its not a bad deal, not at all.

4. It’s a fun gadget to interact with. Kids and adults can play with the interactive widgets from the Chumby website, or can even create fun new widgets of their own. You can send them over to a friends’ chumby gadget across the internet. Overall, the Chumby gadget will allow people of to express their creativity and have a blast.

Check out this video from YouTube, where Chris Pirillo shows you how you can play with widgets from either the Chumby site or your own created widgets:

The Chumby gadget is fun and so versatile, it will certainly take off fast. Who wants a regular radio alarm clock beeping in your ear when you can have all of this at your fingertips, ready when you wake up in the morning? Wake up, see the weather & traffic reports, stocks, horoscope, check on your Facebook buddies and eBay bids… all before morning coffee! Or, use it at your desk to keep you up to date on news, business, sports scores and more.

Chumby currently comes in 3 colors, pearl, latte, and black. The latte Chumby looks the most casual, like something out of the 70s. I would personally like to see more color options (as I’ve read that one person thought the latte one reminded him of his grandma’s vibrating muscle massager… ew?) However, the black or white options are there for the less “nostalgic” types.

Stay tuned – there is sure to be lots more buzz about this new gadget!