ChumbyOne
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Chumby sprouts legs, walks, fails at feline amusement (video)
By default Chumbys are cuddly but not exactly mobile. Then along came the Chumby One, not even cuddly and exactly zero percent more mobile. EMGRobotics is here to solve that issue with a Chumbified port of RobotSee, a robotics-specific language developed by Eric Gregori. The One here is paired with a Freescale accelerometer and manages to walk all by its lonesome without falling over. Mind you, it doesn't walk very quickly, but if it were any faster it'd run the risk of scaring away the cat, and we wouldn't want that. Oh, and make sure you skip ahead to the 1:45 mark in the video if you want to skip the PowerPoint and get straight to the staggering action.
Secrets of the Chumby One: it can be turned into a 3G router
Need another reason to plop down a hundred bucks for a Chumby One? How about the fact that it can be turned into a 3G router without so much as a few minor tweaks? Of course, you'll also need a 3G USB modem, but the only other modifications required are a few changes to the Network Config settings, and a quick command in the drop-down console to configure the Chumby One as an access point. Add in a rechargeable battery and you've got a genuine MiFi alternative -- albeit perhaps the bulkiest one ever, which may or may not last for more than an hour. Hit up the link below for the complete details.
Chumby One gets composite video output via marginally difficult mod
The Chumby One, much like the original, is an interesting beast. For all intents and purposes, it's a mod-friendly box that sits on your nightstand and pushes out real-time information that it pulls down from the web. That said, the inbuilt display may be too small to be considered "glanceable" in some scenarios, and if you're ferociously nodding your head up and down in agreement, we've a hack you should probably see. One xobs recently discovered that a composite video output could be added to the Chumby One, enabling it to output its information onto any display with such an input. Granted, the device can only support a single display at a time, but hey, who ever said you could have your cake and eat it too?
Chumby One gets the iFixit treatment, greets world with a cute hidden message
We've already played with the Chumby One and fell for it, so it did hurt a bit when our friends at iFixit decided to rip this cute device apart. Actually, it wasn't as heartbreaking as we thought, especially when the hackers spotted a cute message below the Kingston 2GB microSD card -- containing the firmware -- on the logic board, courtesy of Andrew "bunnie" Huang, VP Hardware Engineering and Founder of Chumby Industries. Other notable discoveries include a Freescale i.MX233 processor, Hynix 64MB DDR RAM and a removable "Ralink-based RT2571 USB Wi-Fi dongle" (note: extra USB port!). Feel free to check out the guts after the break -- just promise you won't cry or faint.
Chumby One review
Let's be honest: it's really hard to dislike Chumby. In fact, you feel almost compelled to root for any company bold enough to put out a product as unapologetically wacky as the original Chumby, a device that somehow managed to marry a soft, cuddly vinyl sphere with WiFi and a touchscreen. It didn't make a lot of sense, and as far as we can tell, the company didn't really intend it to -- they basically threw it out there and said, "hey, so we've got this... uh, thing... now let's see what you can do with it." It was an open platform, Chumby encouraged hackers to dig in and understand the guts, and over time, a small-but-vibrant community of users and developers emerged with several hundred widgets capable of doing everything from showing the time to cracking a few Chuck Norris jokes. A quirky, overpriced alarm clock without broad market appeal can only take you so far, though -- someone's eventually got to pay the bills. Enter the $100 Chumby One, Chumby's first attempt to grow up and produce an affordable device that loses a little bit of the Chumby Classic's insanity while carefully staying true to the company's roots. Will this be Chumby's ticket out of the geek niche and into mainstream living rooms and offices?
Chumby One now on sale
Looks like the new Chumby One just snuck its way into the Chumby store, with a listed ship date of the 25th. The One might not be as cuddly and adorable as the OG model, but it's got a slightly faster 454MHz processor, a battery for on-the-go use and a lower $100 price tag, so we're not complaining -- especially since you also get an FM tuner, a dedicated volume knob, and a 2GB microSD card in the package. On the other hand, the Classic still comes with a free set of Chumby Charms, so this could be a tough decision for you.
Chumby, now with less adorable softness: meet the One
Wrapping one's brain around Chumby's original concept -- drop some Flash-based widgets inside a plush vinyl sphere with WiFi and a touchscreen -- has never been an easy task, but after a couple years of low-key retail action, it looks like the company's finally ready to bring a new version into the mix that might be a little more mainstream. The simply-named One dispenses of the old model's squeezable shell, earning a more businesslike appearance and trading up to a slightly speedier 454MHz core (not to say you need a lot of horsepower when you're lackadaisically cruising feeds, weather forecasts, and clock faces on a QVGA screen, but we're not complaining). Otherwise, specs seem to be about the same -- and at a rumored $100 or so when it hits next month, it might finally be cheap enough to get some traction even though it's not as thin, slick, or normal-looking as those concept Sammy frames from earlier in the year. And hey, Chumby's got an Engadget widget available for download, so it must be worth the cost of admission, right? [Via thegadgetsite, thanks KC Kim]
