Topic: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

if you had to choose between a Chumby Classic and a Chumby One, which would you want?
Are there any major performance or longevity differences?

thanks!

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

pduncan67 wrote:

if you had to choose between a Chumby Classic and a Chumby One, which would you want?
Are there any major performance or longevity differences?

The One has better performance, it's better ventilated so it stays cooler, and I think the sound is a little better and louder so may make a better alarm clock.

The Classic does have stereo speakers, and a better power supply.

The original power supplies for the 'One' were made during one of the global 'bad capacitor' times, and frequently end up failing.  If you're moderately good with soldering, you can crack them open, and replace the bad caps... or take an easy to find 2+amp 5 volt USB power supply and put the plug from the chumby on it.

Cleaning up any loose bits and bytes.

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

Thanks diamaunt

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

Both have their advantages. Classic has stereo speakers (not much better than the One) and two usb outlets. Also it has a soft pillow case. The One has one very nice speaker for its size and a sturdy plastic case. One has a battery backup. I also like the Infocast version. Sleek design and almost the same as the One inside. Info does not have a battery backup.

Owner of 3 Sony Dash, 2 Info 8.

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

ok - thanks demarks

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

I would still choose classic, with soft touch in real Italian leather, so cute, cosy and so lovely, it is like a dog or cat. vs. One it is a industrialized product, solid, squared, no feeling.

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

Yes, I agree with stein. Now that the Chumby is moving into the past, the Classic's unique styling makes more of a statement. I've got all types of Chumbys, but the one that I have on my desk at work is a Classic, because it's the one that makes people ask "What's that?" (In theory, anyway. Noone ever has - I work with quite a techno-indifferent or techno-phobic group of people. We use a cloud-based database. More than one of my colleagues confuses the browser with the database.)

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

Some history, which I might have related before...

When we were designing the chumby, we approached several different industrial designers to assist.  We would pretty much engage them by asking them a question:

"You know the iPod....?"

At that point the eyes would begin to roll - yet another stupid tech company that wants to leach off the iPod round-corner-white-block aesthetic.  *Every* client would ask that question, and the designers hated to hear it.

However, we were different - we followed with - "...yeah, we want the opposite of that.".  We wanted it soft, squeezable, tactile.

That came with a cost though - nobody knew how to make leather-encased  electronics, so we had to engage manufacturers that normally make shoes.  The initial "Foo/Katamari" cloth prototypes were made by one of the companies that made Beanie Babies.  We shipped our devices in reusable linen bags - the folks that kitted our stuff had never seen that before - where's all the vacuum-formed plastic?

However, the pressure was on - we had to reduce the costs of device, and that unfortunately meant we could continue fighting the anti-iPod fight, and the chumby One came from that.    Once we got into larger form factors, we had to be careful with the footprint.

Now everything chumby-like device out there (there are now ones from about a dozen companies) all look like the Sony dash - not ugly, but not bold either.

All but a few of the devices in my home, and the ones I use the most day-to-day, are chumby Classics.

Re: Chumby Classic vs. Chumby One

I have my Sony Dash (which you resurrected from a Sony grave, something I will always be thankful for) and a classic.  I use them both.  They make me happy. smile