http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/ Engadget Comments for Chumby One review http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/It DOES have FM radio, but Apple has yet to unlock it in the Broadcom chip. Bluetooth was always there, and they unlocked that with the 3.0 update.]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
an iPod dock up top would really make this thing dynamite, but I'll have no problem simply connecting it via USB.

]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
Additionally, the screen could be brighter. I have my Chumby on one of my night stands and I have a Sony DPF-D80 digital picture frame on the other night stand. The Chumby screen doesn't come close in terms of brightness.

And some of the early bugs really spooked me. For example, one time I had an alarm set, but it lost wifi signal over night, and therefore the alarm decided to not go off. Whaaaat? So I was late to work that day. So needless to say, I love my Chumby - it works great as a bedside clock and widget player. I love the random widgets like news stories, quotes of the day, etc... I don't find it to be the "best alarm clock" in the world. I pretty much use my iPhone for that, but if I didn't have my iPhone, I'd still rather use my Squeezebox Radio, which offers way more features than the Chumby, and it's an amazing audio device as well. I do like the two USB ports on the back of my Chumby classic (the new version only has one). I keep an iPhone dock connector in the back at all times so I can charge it before I hit the sack at night.

So all in all, the Chumby is a good device. It's not mindblowing or anything, but i mean who can argue with another internet connected device? :-)]]>Nov 13th 2009 4:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 9:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
Anyone hear the one about Jay Leno going to the beach? He was gang raped by five pelicans.]]>Nov 13th 2009 5:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/




inb4 it gave me a chumby]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
The big thing to understand with the Chumby is that for 90% of people, it's not useful. It's a toy, and as long as you're setting your expectations accordingly you'll be OK. I have 100 different widgets cycling through my main channel - everything from webcams around the world to clocks, weather, news, goofy stuff, games, etc. It sits on my work desk and is a nice distraction over the course of the day.

I'm sure if I was really motivated I could get it to do more cool stuff. But as it is right now, it's a good piece of flexible, open hardware that is easy to justify at $100. That's a couple of bar tabs for me, so it's not such a bad deal for a really cool alarm clock or widget player.]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
I pretty much ignored the original for lack of understanding of what it was. It seemed highly unlikely that it was a passable WiFi Internet Radio (besides all the other things) at that price, yet apparently, it is.

Stand alone WiFi Internet Radios are generally much more expensive than $100, and those with color screens and touch interfaces ... don't yet exist (or are only just starting to).

For this functionality alone, the Chumby One is a STEAL, and if you think 90% of the population wouldn't enjoy such a radio (of course, 90% of the population has no idea that such radios even exist :-( ), then what planet are you living on?

]]>Nov 13th 2009 2:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 14th 2009 7:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
Like I said in the original post, I like mine. I'm probably going to buy at least one more, because I fit into that 10% that have a use for it. But if all you want is an alarm clock there are better options available.]]>Nov 13th 2009 9:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Seems poor also that the review gives NO information about what runs it, and how that compares to the classic, is it slower or faster? (important for people that write code or have some on-the-edge apps on a classic I imagine.)
Not even a link to check yourself :/
]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/11/chumby-one-now-on-sale/
https://store.chumby.com/pages.php?pID=15

Come on. Put some effort in, man.

As for the first point, most people use only one USB port, and I don't think the OG has a light sensor. At least, mine doesn't seem to.]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
All I can say is that I gave up on this.
]]>Nov 13th 2009 8:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
Regarding the iPod Touch - isn't it just lacking the software to utilize FM radio? The new nanos use the headphone cord as an FM antennae, although I suppose it still needs a receiver. so the iPod Touch has a built in receiver? MY HEAD ASPLODES!!

]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 14th 2009 8:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 1:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/I have an iGala connected to Harman Kardon's sound sticks and I now I could hardly live without it.
It streams great sounding music from my NAS and PCs , it shows pics from picasa and Flikr few minutes after they are uploaded, shows wheather, infos, play movies, and any sort of media (including mp4 videos) via wifi, usb & memory card, and it's a great calendar and clock or alarm clock. The only reason why I did'nt buy a second one is because it costs too much; but if this new Chumby can do just about the same things for just a Benny I think I can find a place for it in the kitchen or in the bathroom or somewhere else.]]>Nov 13th 2009 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 2:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 2:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 2:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
http://wiki.chumby.com/mediawiki/index.php/Scratchbox]]>Nov 13th 2009 2:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 2:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
Is there any talk of that possibility for a future model?]]>Nov 13th 2009 2:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/The cube is ugly. It should be a thin device.

I'd rather not know the time, or the weather. Yes, I'd rather go out to work late in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts in sub zero snow than have this ugliness on my table.
]]>Nov 13th 2009 3:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/
If you don't "get it," then don't get it! :-) If you do, you'll enjoy it.

PS - you can also put a virtual Chumby on your website...it looks like your Chumby, and shows whatever is on your real one!]]>Nov 13th 2009 3:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 16th 2009 2:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/chumby-one-review/Nov 13th 2009 3:54PM