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I really don't know why you would compare this to a smartphone. They're not even in the same realm of gadgets.
I actually think this would be quite awesome to have. Waking up to Pandora, checking a few news stories, etc -- sounds great to me. If I had a spare $100, I'd definitely pick one up. #chumbyone
@parkur: because it seems to do things your smartphone that you already own and probably keep on your nightstand next to your bed does better. It's a valid comparison. #chumbyone
@ all: There is no doubt in my mind that my current smartphone (a Moto Cliq) does everything this does. I just have a feeling this does it all a little better than my current smartphone thanks to the fact that it's a DEDICATED "alarm clock like" device.
As it now stands I'm currently using FOUR APPS (Night Watch, Sleep Timer, and both the standard Android Alarm and Music Player app) with my smartphone to use it as a replacement for the 5 year old alarm I got rid of a while ago. It's kind of a hassle to constantly have to toggle and turn on all of these apps in a exact order to get the functions I want from my new phone (a active alarm with a clock display, and sleep timer for the stock Android Music App/Pandora Music app I sometimes listen to when trying to get to sleep at night).
Since no one in the app store seems to be making the all in one app I need with all the features I listed above (trust me I've emailed some of the developers about this with no luck), this looks like it'll fill my particular needs nicely (plus it doubles as a digital photo frame and looks like it'll make a great desktop companion for the office! Want internet access on the toilet with out bringing your phone or laptop? Want to listen to music while showering without fear of water damage affecting your phone? Why not use this $100 device instead of your $500-$600 OFF contract priced Smartphone?According to my math it'd be cheaper and a whole lot less painless to replace one of these instead of say your new toy phone, right?). At the $100 dollar asking price it's kind of a steal IMO. Plus, it'd be kind of nice to be able to shut my phone off at night without having to worry about it going off (which it already has once or twice...).
Oh, and @ everyone else: in this thread talking about phone's with docks, I'm assuming you're all talking about the iPhone's, Droid's, and Pre's of the world? What about everyone who happens to own a smartphone that doesn't happen to be any of the above mentioned smartphones? A majority of current smartphones out there don't have the benefit of big manufacturers throwing their all behind them by making custom dock's (among other crap) for them. It's an interesting little gadget that I honestly forgot reading about the first time Giz covered it until now. Thanks for the post Dan! Just checked their website, too bad they're now back ordered... D:
@MIKERIOSISAWHORE.COM: Droid has a nifty alarm clock mode when docked. I wonder if your Cliq and other Android phones will get that in 2.0. You may not have a dock that would turn that on automatically but maybe you'd be able to switch to that mode manually. It has a nice big clock and one button access to the music player, the night mode to dim the screen while you're sleeping, and your alarms.
@npd33: The original Chumby came with the idea that both the hardware and software were hackable, or more correctly open to the user for modifications and changes. it's basically the reason Chumby even exists. #chumbyone
@npd33: Very much so, yes. The system runs on Linux, and is (aside from the flash player, which runs Adobe proprietary code) entirely open source -- they even release source code and hardware schematics/circuit diagrams. They encourage tinkering, the thing takes four screws to take apart/put together, and it's generally a hacker-friendly device (has an internal serial port that you just have to populate a header, and this one's memory is in the form of a 2GB microSD card inside it -- easily upgradeable internal storage that way.). If you don't want to void your warranty, you can even just enable SSH from the menus (it's hidden by a π symbol on the device info screen).
It's not as cute as the last one, but this one isn't covered in leather, so I might get it - really like the idea of Chumby, and if the first gen had been covered in fabric I'd own one now.
I also am kinda diggin' the retro alarm-clock look, but something just seems a little off. I think I would have to see / use this in person before I decide. But if it's really only $100, I'll probably whip out my CC before I know what's even going on.
12/17/09
11/13/09
11/12/09
I actually think this would be quite awesome to have. Waking up to Pandora, checking a few news stories, etc -- sounds great to me. If I had a spare $100, I'd definitely pick one up. #chumbyone
11/12/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
As it now stands I'm currently using FOUR APPS (Night Watch, Sleep Timer, and both the standard Android Alarm and Music Player app) with my smartphone to use it as a replacement for the 5 year old alarm I got rid of a while ago. It's kind of a hassle to constantly have to toggle and turn on all of these apps in a exact order to get the functions I want from my new phone (a active alarm with a clock display, and sleep timer for the stock Android Music App/Pandora Music app I sometimes listen to when trying to get to sleep at night).
Since no one in the app store seems to be making the all in one app I need with all the features I listed above (trust me I've emailed some of the developers about this with no luck), this looks like it'll fill my particular needs nicely (plus it doubles as a digital photo frame and looks like it'll make a great desktop companion for the office! Want internet access on the toilet with out bringing your phone or laptop? Want to listen to music while showering without fear of water damage affecting your phone? Why not use this $100 device instead of your $500-$600 OFF contract priced Smartphone?According to my math it'd be cheaper and a whole lot less painless to replace one of these instead of say your new toy phone, right?). At the $100 dollar asking price it's kind of a steal IMO. Plus, it'd be kind of nice to be able to shut my phone off at night without having to worry about it going off (which it already has once or twice...).
Oh, and @ everyone else: in this thread talking about phone's with docks, I'm assuming you're all talking about the iPhone's, Droid's, and Pre's of the world? What about everyone who happens to own a smartphone that doesn't happen to be any of the above mentioned smartphones? A majority of current smartphones out there don't have the benefit of big manufacturers throwing their all behind them by making custom dock's (among other crap) for them. It's an interesting little gadget that I honestly forgot reading about the first time Giz covered it until now. Thanks for the post Dan! Just checked their website, too bad they're now back ordered... D:
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/12/09
…You can read it first thing in the morning without reaching for your glasses first.
:-P #chumbyone
11/12/09
Using that on their homepage alone makes me want to get one all the more now.
This could be a definite maybe purchase in my near future. #chumbyone
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09