Unboxing Chumby and My First Impressions
I don’t make a lot of shopping decisions based on an impulse, but in a rare case about a month ago, that is, the very first day I read about Chumby on its website, I registered my email for an invite notification. And the very day I got the invitation, I placed the order for it. So what prompted me to show such a deep interest in a product after reading for only 5-10 minutes about it? It was the open nature of the product’s design philosophy on both the hardware and the software front.
The team was excited to release the schematics and source code as part of the chumby launch strategy. The chumby license grants users the rights to use and modify the device, but withholds patent royalty rights. [...] The team is encouraging users to hack the device (they even included a parts list) and sell small apps, but not use the hardware in ways that end-run the chumby creators. [christine.net]
It is hacker-friendly, easily customizable, built on the Linux platform and hence guaranteed to attract a large user and developer community . And of course, it comes at a low cost of $180 :) Chumbys are now available to everyone in the US(international shipping not yet available), no invitations are needed any more. After a wait of almost 25 days, I finally received my Chumby a couple of days ago. What follows are my first impressions about the device.
My Chumby Review
If you don’t know what a Chumby is, head over to Chumby.com to get a basic idea about it. In short:
The chumby is a compact device that displays useful and entertaining information from the web using your wireless internet connection. Always on, it shows — nonstop — what’s online that matters to you. [Chumby.com]
But as I have noted earlier, Chumby can be customised or re-skinned to mean any of the several things(clock, news reader, portable IPTV etc.) according to one’s own requirements. My entire next post will be dedicated on elaborating this.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Chumby delivered in a brown coloured cloth bag instead of the typical shiny and colourful card boxes. The colour and texture of the bag reminded me of the khadi material popularised in India by Gandhi during the Freedom movement(of course I don’t know what material the bag is actually made of, but I am guessing it is environment friendly at least. Thanks to Anmol for informing in the comments that it is made of jute).
When I opened the bag, all the contents were placed in their own little pouches, like the power adapter and the Chumby Charms. Here is a picture showing all the contents that came with the Chumby package(click on any picture to view the enlarged version):
A note about the power adapter since it had bugged me for a while: the power rating(Input AC: 100-240V, 50/60 Hz) itself should be compatible with power output ratings of most(all?) countries but the prong may not fit physically into all outlets. I had no such problems though as I use surge protectors that take almost any kind of prong configuration.
Chumby itself from different angles:
Doesn’t it look very cute? I bet you can trick your friend into believing that it is an Apple product ;)
You can see a plastic cover over the screen of Chumby in some of the above pictures. It is supposed to be removed before use but don’t worry - there is another, almost invisible, screen protector on the screen which will prevent the scratches and dust from spoiling it. I am wondering which protective covers I need to buy in case I want to replace the current one.
The first time I connected the device to power outlet and powered it on, it took me through an interactive tour explaining some important features of Chumby. It was fun! Watch it yourself if you want:
[uploaded by youtube user bethgoza]
In the end, it prompted me to configure the wireless connection, set the time zone and stuff like that, all of which was a total breeze, and then finally prompted me to install one of the available updates. It warned me that the power should not be disconnected while the firmware update was in progress but it would have been more useful if the warning had been given before starting the update; I would have connected it to the UPS before updating. Fortunately, no mishaps occurred.
When the update was over, Chumby displayed a beautiful blue clock showing the current time.
(Oh, I forgot. Somewhere in the middle, I was prompted to activate the device which involved going to Chumby.com, clicking on some ovals and entering an n-digit key. Pretty straight-forward.)
I quickly went to the Chumby website, created a new channel, filled it with a preliminary set of interesting widgets and set the Chumby to this channel. Gratification at last! The device now temporarily adorns the right corner of my desk. It supports a night mode that darkens the display out so you can activate it before going to bed if you have set an alarm and want to leave the device powered on.
 |
 |
| Default Mode | Night Mode |
I plan to write a lot more about Chumby - what kind of interesting uses it can be put to, what are my biggest complaints about it(there are many!) and perhaps also a walk-through on how to set it up with interesting channels and in other configurations. Let me end for now with another quote from Duanne’s blog post:
Hopefully this and my previous post today provide a sense of where we’re headed with the chumby — an inexpensive device that you can make into whatever you want it to be, and that takes a bunch of the services that you can find in a range of other products like digital picture frames, weather stations, internet radios and delivers them all in a neat little package controlled by a really simple web-based interface. Just plug it in, create a widget channel for it at chumby.com, and you’re in business.
Update: A very similar review of Chumby to mine is posted by Joel Evans at Geek.com. In fact, I discovered it over my Chumby’s screen through the Google Blogsearch widget! You can also read an old article on Engadget and search for Chumby youtube videos.
My second post on Chumby is up now: Five Interesting Ways to Use a Chumby That Might Make You Buy It. Working on the third part.
Related Posts:
Readers who viewed this page, also viewed:
- Is C++ really a bigger language than Java?
- Spice up GNOME Desktop Using gDesklets(aka SuperKaramba in KDE)
- Update or Install Applications on Debian/Ubuntu Without an Internet Connection
- Five Interesting Ways of Using a Chumby That Might Make You Buy It
[...] Unboxing Chumby and My First Impressions به نظرتون این شی عجیب ۱۸۰ دلاری چی میتونه باشه؟! (tags: ابزار) [...]
QuotePingback by The Days » Blog Archive » links for 2007-12-01 — December 2, 2007 @ 1:55 am
it is the most ugly piece of crap I ever saw. Holly cow!
QuoteComment by LunarRock — December 2, 2007 @ 9:56 am
That bag is made of jute.
QuoteComment by Anmol — December 2, 2007 @ 10:09 am
The word “screenshot” means a shot of a computer screen. While you have included a couple of pictures that could be referred to as screenshots, twice here you’ve used the word “screenshot” when you really meant “picture”.
QuoteComment by Icky — December 2, 2007 @ 10:49 am
gay.
QuoteComment by m1 — December 2, 2007 @ 11:15 am
Icky, you win the award for the most pedantic person of the year :)
QuoteComment by Matt — December 2, 2007 @ 11:55 am
@Icky: lol, you are right. It just so happened that I have posted only screenshots for almost 2 years now and this is the first time I have ever posted an actual picture. Guess I got too used to the use of word ’screenshot.’ When I think of it, it is almost hilarious! Thanks for pointing it out, I am correcting it now :)
@Anmol so made of jute it is. Thanks for sharing!
@LunarRock: I disagree but we are entitled to our own opinions ;)
QuoteComment by tabrez — December 2, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
This device is kind of useless. The only good thing about it is that it’s based on Linux
QuoteComment by .... — December 2, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
I don’t understand how this is a review… Nowhere in the main text is there any reference to what the device actually does or is supposed to do. The only reference is an third party quote at the very end which goes into very little detail.
QuoteJust a pointer: your readers will probably appreciate it if you tell them what the subject of your post is in the first paragraph, and preferably in the first sentence. You should never make them work this hard to figure it out.
Comment by joe — December 2, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
Matt: [edit] I now realise that I misread your comment that was actually directed towards another commenter.
…: let us allow the consumers to decide that! ;)
joe: your and my definition of what a review should be like may be different but the headline of the post itself says that these are my first impressions about the device and I repeat the same at the end of first paragraph too. I think I have written quite a bit about the device and noted that this is only the first part(although standalone) and I plan to write about other aspects of the device in the next couple of posts.
I don’t find it useful to simply repeat the hardware specs and a list of features as they are already available on Chumby.com. Perhaps I should have at least dropped a link to Chumby.com though. I also assumed that the readers would already have a basic idea of what a Chumby is(or would follow the first christine.net link that I have provided), so what I did learn from your feedback is that perhaps I need to add at least one paragraph explaining what the device is actually supposed to do. I am doing that now, thanks.
QuoteComment by tabrez — December 2, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
Cute story, but you’ve blown one of the big rules of journalism - after reading your article, I still don’t know what the *#!@ a Chumby is! It’s obviously some kind of linux-powered computing device, but that’s about all I gleaned from the story. You might want to work on that a little, eh?
QuoteComment by n. nescio — December 2, 2007 @ 2:22 pm
This is similar to Nabaztag but just more powerful! My Nabaztag is sitting around doing nothing these days.
QuoteComment by hkreturnee — December 2, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
[...] Tabrez has a great unboxing report with pictures and videos. [...]
QuotePingback by Chumby | www.gadgetguy.de - The GadgetGuy — December 2, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
[...] Make You Buy It Filed under: Chumby, General — tabrez @ 4:19 pm I have written about unboxing and my very first impressions about Chumby - yet another Linux powered portable device - in my previous post. As promised in that post, here [...]
QuotePingback by Five Interesting Ways of Using a Chumby That Might Make You Buy It — December 2, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
I think this device is doomed. 1. I think it’s too bulky 2. panoramic better than square screen 3. 180 bucks for something a cell can already do. just buy a moko, that’s just my opinion
QuoteComment by nobody — December 2, 2007 @ 9:01 pm
[...] *built on the Linux platform and hence guaranteed to attract a large user and developer community.*read more | digg [...]
QuotePingback by Don Watkins » Blog Archive » Unboxing Chumby - Another Linux powered Device That is Making Waves — December 2, 2007 @ 11:06 pm
I kind of like it, got to play with one the other day. My ideal chumby would have my Flickr photos in a slideshow, weather forecast, stock charts, and the time cycling through. That would actually be pretty useful.
QuoteComment by KirkH — December 3, 2007 @ 3:49 am
[...] review of the device (with pictures and video) showcases it as a device to stay connected [...]
QuotePingback by » Chumby : Who said widgets needed a full blown PC? | IT News Digest | TechRepublic.com — December 3, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
For a wireless device that sells it self as a portable unit (quote: “why be stuck behind a keyboard to enjoy your internet addictions”), it must *always* be plugged in.
I like the fact that it’s Linux and everything about the unit is open-sourced (hardware too!) but I just don’t see a market for this. It’s not quite a digital internet-enabled picture frame (too small) and not nearly Nokia n810 realm. It reminds me of a digital clock on steroids (sans radio receiver) or a really small desktop designed for the lilliputians - the kind of unit at home in a parent’s or grandparent’s home (example: touch widget see email, touch another widget see pictures, no-muss-no-fuss) except that the screen would need to be larger to reach this audience.
The specs are promising and perhaps the Chumby Network will provide value that isn’t apparent to me (including email). Would like to see a followup review about any advantages the Network provides, readability (eBooks), graphic resolution, mp3 playback/sound, video feasibility and it’s ability to read/write to external USB drives.
All Widgets: http://www.chumby.com/guide
Specs via http://www.chumby.com/story :
QuoteWi-fi connectivity • access to the free Chumby Network • 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
Comment by Eric — December 3, 2007 @ 8:11 pm
Story added…
Your story has been submitted to fsdaily.com! Come and promote your article by voting for it here: http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/Unboxing_Chumby_Another_Linux_powered_Device_That_is_Making_Waves...
QuoteTrackback by fsdaily.com — December 3, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
Pretty neat, now just wait for Apple to rip off the idea and give us same thing, with some fine tuning in looks and ergonomics! :(
Now all I am trying to figure out is, whats your distro :D?
QuoteComment by Rami — December 4, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
[...] Chumby - first impressions Filed under: Hardware, Linux — 0ddn1x @ 2007-12-07 16:35:09 +0000 http://beans.seartipy.com/2007/11/30/unboxing-chumby-and-my-first-impressions/ [...]
QuotePingback by Chumby - first impressions « 0ddn1x: tricks with *nix — December 7, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
@hkreturnee, I checked Nabaztag out and one of its features that Chumby people would be smart to copy is the text-to-speech feature and connectivity with landline/other phones.
@nobody, I don’t see a comparison of Chumby with a cell phone by a long stretch of imagination.
@KirkH, I agree :)
@Eric that’s an informative comment, thanks for posting! Did you read the second part of the review? http://tinyurl.com/2a5att
@Rami, lol! ;)
QuoteMy favourite distribution is Gentoo. Then Debian/Ubuntu.
Comment by tabrez — December 8, 2007 @ 10:43 am
[...] over here has already got her hand on one and gives us a virtual whiz on it. Check it out.(PS: why oh why [...]
QuotePingback by | Royal HeHe2-ness — December 11, 2007 @ 5:50 am
Icky on December 2, 2007 at 10:49 am said:
Screenshots predate personal computers by quite a long way. Photographs of TV screens, intended to give the viewer an idea of the quality of the TV were the first screenshots (and needed to be synchronised to the refresh rate of low illumination interval screens). Then early computer magaznes frequently employed actual photos of screens running various programs because the hardware required to capture the image was either prohibitively expensive or impossible to operate simultaneously with the application (think dongle secured software). So if you’re going to be a pedant, check your facts first :)
Chumby looks awesome btw :)
QuoteComment by Tom — February 4, 2008 @ 1:06 pm