Last we heard of Chumby, it was getting all growed up with an 8-inch screen. But now our dear Wi-Fi widget hub's been shot with the Godzilla ray or Rick Moranis or something, and its interface has been humongified to fit on your television. And that might be really good for the future of the smart TV.
The Chumby NeTV connects in-line to your TV and overlays the Chumby interface on top of your picture. You can use an Android phone to control it, which will let you browse and get SMS and email notifications on your TV; but the NeTV also comes with a seven-button remote.
TVs with apps have been underwhelming, to be kind. And it's too early to know how good the NeTV's going to be, but a third party platform that doesn't rely on a specific brand's hardware might be the booster the horribly fragmented, rightly-ignored smart TV arena needs. Developers will get the NeTV next month, but there's no word on a release date or pricing just yet. [Engadget]