The Chumby

The Chumby is a cute widget based desktop device which receives internet content such as weather, news, podcasts and music. It is basically like a shrunk down version of your computer which just deals with certain aspects of the internet. The Chumby in essence has 3 main uses. The first of these is acting as a physical internet widget. The widgets for the device are free and with over 1,500 apps available the Chumby is entirely customisable. Secondly, the Chumby can be used as an internet radio with its built in speakers at the back. The third main use of the Chumby is as an alarm clock, allowing you to wake up to internet radio or your ipod connected via one of the USB ports. Additionally, you can stream music from your home computer to the device.

It is made by Chumby Industries, based in San Diego, California. They are a software company that works with consumer electronics OEMs. The first Chumby came out back in 2007. This was clad in soft leather and had a very cute and cuddly appearance. The company have recently released an updated version of the Chumby Classic which is called the Chumby One.

The Chumby One has lost its soft playful appearance and developed more of a slick look. It now has a white plastic shell with a blue accent around the edge. Personally, I preferred the old Chumby. It was so unique with its soft leather cladding and now the Chumby One seems to have lost that air about it.

Nevertheless, this device is a must have for any tech home. You can pre-order you’re Chumby One on the Chumby website for $99 or $120 after it is released. You can also still pick up the original Chumby Classic for $199 which is twice the price of the Chumby One but how could you resist it.

(Specs. from the Chumby website)

chumby one

• 3.5" LCD color touchscreen
• Uses rechargeable lithium ion battery (not included); about one hour on a full charge
• 4" wide x 4" tall x 3.5" deep
• 1 USB 2.0 high-speed port
• 454 MHz ARM processor
• 64 MB DDR SDRAM
• 2 GB internal microSD card
• 2W mono speaker
• Stereo headphone output
• Volume knob
• FM radio tuner
• Accelerometer (motion sensor)
• ABS plastic housing
• AC adapter included
• Wi-fi connectivity (802.11 b/g)
• USB ethernet compatible
• Dimmable backlight
• One-click control panel access
• Access to free chumby content
• Over-the-air software updates

chumby classic

• 3.5" LCD color touchscreen
• 5.5" wide x 3.5" tall x 3" deep
• 2 USB 2.0 full-speed ports
• 350 MHz ARM processor
• 64 MB SDRAM
• 64 MB NAND flash ROM
• 2W stereo speakers
• Stereo headphone output
• Accelerometer (motion sensor)
• Leather housing
• AC adapter included
• Wi-fi connectivity (802.11 b/g)
• USB ethernet compatible
• Dimmable backlight
• One-click control panel access
• Access to free chumby content
• Over-the-air software updates
• Free charm set one included with each chumby classic