Chumby was designed to be hacked from the beginning. Android is only partially open.

Not sure what you mean by "Chumby like or Sony Dash like device?"  Pretty much any phone or small tablet (they make "tablets" down to about 4" size) can be used as a display for various types of information from the web. I purchased one of these small/cheap tablets for my girlfriend to use as an internet radio and it sat in a business card holder to keep it at an angle that made it easy to view.

If you want a device you can get inside and tinker with the code Android really does not come close to Chumby.