• Registered: 2007-10-23
  • Posts: 2

Topic: Thoughts on my chumby

After waiting a long time for chumby, I finally received it a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to give my impressions.

- The device certainly does what it was advertised to do.
- It's a good device, not great.  For me the price seems to high for the provided functionality.  I would consider it a good deal at about $90 - 100.
- The touch screen can be frustrating.  Sometimes not registering my touch or being off.  I have tried to fine tune things by going through alignment excercise.
- It would be nice if you could "easily" change the current screen (an Apple iPhone gesture would be great).
- The available widgets are OK... nothing great
- The speakers have marginal sound quality
- Not being able to stream music out-of-the box is disappointing (i.e. no Linux commands).  I can not even tell my friends that a chumby can replace their clock/radio.

I don't regret my purchase, but it lacks the wow-factor I thought I was going to experience.  I can not  recommend a Chumby to my friends at the current price.  Perhaps software updates will change that.

2 Reply by Steve Tomlin (edited by Steve Tomlin 2007-10-24 14:05:15)

  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-29
  • Posts: 159

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

fredtwd, sorry you're disappointed.  I think you'll see that upcoming software updates already in the works will satisfy you on several of your issues.  At least hoping that will be the case...

Steve Tomlin's Website

  • From: FL
  • Registered: 2007-10-19
  • Posts: 47

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

On the lack of Widget's.  Give it some time.  Many developers are probably just getting their hands on these so I'm sure more will show up soon.

What kind are you looking for?

  • Registered: 2007-10-23
  • Posts: 2

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

What would be great is if you could create  a widget mashup (e.g. combine a clock widget with a weather widget). 

Often I will glance over to see the time on my Chumby; however, it's display todays Woot deal.  Depending on the duration and number of widgets for the channel, it could be several minutes before the time is displayed.  Yes I could bring up the control panel and navigate to the clock, but that's a pain (and sometimes frustrating given the fact that, for me, the touch screen is not always that accurate).

Other widgets I'd like to see... a Pandora Music widget (this would be way, way cool).  Local radar widget.  A woot widget that supports all the woots (including sellout and shirt).  TV listings widget (customizable  for provider and channels).  A calendar widget (day, week month view).   IMAP new email widget.

  • Registered: 2007-10-24
  • Posts: 52

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

fredtwd,

I received my Chumby earlier this week and share of the concerns that you posted.  There is tons of potential for this device and I'm excited to see what people do with it.

I'm holding back my "official review" on it until it becomes generally available to the public and the next update is released.

6 Reply by gtm170 (edited by gtm170 2007-10-25 10:12:58)

  • Registered: 2007-07-03
  • Posts: 77

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

fredtwd,
Suggestion about your clock widget issue (having to wait for it to cycle back around).  For the channel that I regularly keep my Chumby on, I interleaved all of the more interesting clocks between my other widgets.  That way I've got a widget, clock, widget, clock cycle going.  At any given time, I know the clock is the next "widget" coming up....

  • From: Cincinnati, OH
  • Registered: 2007-10-09
  • Posts: 78

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

gtm, I do that as well.  I'm still tweaking my different channels to serve my 'needs'.  I added more clocks to my 'morning' channel, and now there's 'too much clock'.  I think if I just change each clock to 15 seconds, that'll work perfectly.  For some reason, 30 seconds seems like an eternity when I just want to see what the weather's gonna be like, or what today's Woot is smile

Chumby birthdate: 10/11/07
  • druk
  • New member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2008-01-10
  • Posts: 6

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

I agree wholeheartedly. I got  my Chumby about 2 weeks ago and I will keep it because it is probably too much trouble to return and it may be a history piece 20 yrs from now. the technology has vast potential as others have stated but the widgets are underwhelming and  some of the existing ones (e.g., IMAP mail viewer) do not work. this is definitely for the spoiled geek who has everything else (I confess to being one). it really does not do anything I could not do with my handheld pocket PC (actually it does a lot less with more limitations). Being tethered to a power cord is a bit limiting. Overall not the WOW experience I hoped for (as others have stated).  So we wait for the new software... any sense of when this is going to happen?

  • From: Seattle and Los Angeles
  • Registered: 2008-01-04
  • Posts: 102

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

"waaah!  I didn't get my money's worth!  Waaah!  The widgets don't make me a margarita!  Waaaah!  Only a totally spoiled geek would think this is awesome!  Waaaah!"

Harsh much?  Sure. 

Look - I bought a Chumby because it fits in the same space in my life as a 15-year-old Sony Dream Machine.  Ya know... the kind with an AM Radio, an FM radio, a beeper and a 4-digit clock?  They're about the same size, and they're both glorified alarm clocks.

Go price a brand new Sony Dream Machine.  I'll wait.

...

Twenty Five bucks is what I found.  Want a CD player?  Sixty bucks.  Hell, you could buy three of them for what a Chumby costs.

...thing is, a Sony Dream Machine won't let me spool up Soma FM while showing me today's Weatherbug, followed by a Webcam of the traffic to work, followed by the latest posts from Engadget.  Neither will a Palm Z22 ($95).  I could probably make an iPaq 111 do it ($289 - now we've blown the Chumby's price out of the water!) but you wanna talk crappy speakers... 

Yeah, the iPaq is gonna go for four or so hours unplugged from the wall.  But really... I just put a 9v on the Chumby and plug it in wherever I'm going.  Eventually I'll buy another few power supplies... I've found 'em for eight bucks.  I mean... it's a clock.  The most hardcore clock ever conceived, to be sure... but it's still a clock.  Mine's been playing music since 9am this morning.  My boom box wouldn't last that long on batteries!  What are you going to do... take the thing jogging?

And that's before you talk about the two USB ports, the ability to talk to SlimServer, the webcams, the Flickr galleries  (5.6" digital picture frame: $64)...

...or the fact that it's the most open-ended piece of hardware/software I've ever worked with.

How many other companies post their circuit boards?  the patterns used to make the case?  A forum where everyone can gripe inanely about everything their beta software *doesn't* do?  the pinout for every sensor on the thing?

What else can you get for $179?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/8301/

Yep.  It changes colors.  And wiggles its ears.  And read RSS feeds to you... for $5 a month.

Maybe I just knew what I was getting into.  Maybe I did some research before putting down my money.  Maybe I'm totally psyched about the potential this little gadget has (I set the noise generator on it, fall asleep to ocean waves, wake up to truly obscure electronic music, and then check the current weather conditions at work... all without getting out of bed!  gimme the ability to fade the audio up and down on a timer and I'll have the functionality that's currently being supplied by a Mac Mini ($599)!).  But honestly... I was ready to spend $600 on the Leitch UDC-5212 that Irregularshed's LED clock is based on.  Instead, I saved $400 and got a boatload of other fun out of the deal.


Again - was that harsh?  You damn betcha.  But puleeeze - how much functionality *should* you expect for $180?

I think a hell of a lot less than you get.  I'm ready to buy a couple more.

Sincerely,

Seth

Slave to the Light, Inc.
Los Angeles & Seattle USA
www.slavetothelight.com

slave2thelight's Website

  • epaph
  • New member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2007-12-16
  • Posts: 7

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

i agree whole heartedly seth,


i receieved the chums as a gift froms omeone who knew i would like the darn thing.

i do


however, seeing weaknesses as weaknesses helps development. and i don't mean to pick on it , or its creators when i do so, some others on the forum do. (not u seth)

but there are some things that get to people. and i understand that sentiment  totally.

i wish it had a browser, and support for a usb keyboard.

but what are you going to do ? well the answer is either wait till someone comes up with it. or do it your damn self.


im currently trying to do both.

i wish it had the browser so i could surf the web, as well as accept the EULA at my job so i can use the chums there.( currently dead in the water)

i also wish it had the usb support for some of these things out there like a wired usb-to-Ethernet or a usb keyboard, or a wireless mouse, or a bluetooth connection ability with  a dongle or something.


maybe someone will create these things to enrich the experience, maybe not.


maybe we will all be saved from work and the creators of chumby will create it themselves and release it in an update to quell these discussions, and satisfy picky users.




hope this thing only gets better and shows haters, how its done.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: Thoughts on my chumby

The chumby already has driver support for USB keyboards.  The issue is that nothing uses it in the standard software stack since it can't be counted on as begin present.

Duane's Website