Maximum PC Explains Chumby

rdctali wrote:BTW, can this guy do anything that a iPod Touch can't do? Just trying to find myself an excuse to buy it. :-)

Yes. It stands upright (without an accessory).

what kid of graphics card is this badboy packin?

Maybe you can buy a bunch and resell them as chumby guts?

http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKCH1

Maximum PC on Chumby at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas Jan. 8th, 2011


After a hectic Friday, CES is (pretty much) at a close. Hopefully you've already had a chance to check out all of our videos from the floor and read about the winners of our FTW awards (if not, check out the Max PC winners and the Max Tech winners) but we've got one last treat for you guys. Here are 20 of our favorite photos snapped by our editors on the CES floor.

The new Chumby 8 (center) will have 1,500 apps, a browser and will sport an 8-inch screen running at 800x600 resolution screen. Chumby 8 runs on an 800MHz Armada 166 CPU and packs 128GB of DDR2. No price has been announced and availability is scheduled for the first half of the year.

Sorry but I read all 5 pages and still nobody has confirmed if there is an actual keyboard that pops up so you can type emails or update your facebook status. Anyone? Bueller?

Aw their so darn cute ! In for one.

austinwebb wrote:Sorry but I read all 5 pages and still nobody has confirmed if there is an actual keyboard that pops up so you can type emails or update your facebook status. Anyone? Bueller?

From Forbes.com:

"Chumby has a virtual keyboard that pops up in some applications--for example, when you search for music on Shoutcast--but this isn't a device for typing and sending messages. It's for reading and viewing. The touch screen handles mostly simple commands like "play" and "stop" for music streams. You might think of Chumby as a souped-up clock radio and digital photo screen with a toylike exterior hiding a full-blown (albeit tiny) computer running the Linux operating system on a chip typically used in portable devices."

HOLY FK, 128GB of DDR2?

My best machine only supports 16gb maximum and has 6GB of DDR3, but damn Battlefield Earth (2000) will run really fast when its all running off of memory

I was really looking for a Blu-Ray player with Wi-Fi for Netflix and Amazon streaming, but that fantasy was quickly dispelled. But wait! An Asus tablet peeked in during the WOOT! Off... so sweet and perfect for what I need. But alas! Only a delusion. I wasn't fast enough on the button for the overloaded WOOT! servers, despite my trying from two separate devices and methods.
So, I got this Chumby... No, it's not a tablet OR a Blu-Ray, but it might, just might, do what I need/want in some bizarre, funky way. Serendipity perhaps??? If not, one of my kids is sure to beg of it from me, if not all three! Wait, let me re-phrase that... If it DOES work out as I wish and I covet the device, then the kids will UNDOUBTEDLY want one... *sigh*
Ahhh... the rewards of parenthood. At least I don't have a grabby wife. Err, wait. I don't have ANY wife! Good trade in my book; wife for the kids. Never lonely and no spare moment to lament being single! I'd make that trade any day, every time. Ka-ching!

equazcion wrote:From Forbes.com:

"Chumby has a virtual keyboard that pops up in some applications--for example, when you search for music on Shoutcast--but this isn't a device for typing and sending messages. It's for reading and viewing. The touch screen handles mostly simple commands like "play" and "stop" for music streams. You might think of Chumby as a souped-up clock radio and digital photo screen with a toylike exterior hiding a full-blown (albeit tiny) computer running the Linux operating system on a chip typically used in portable devices."

So if my computer eats itself I can't use it to send emergency emails or update facebook, only read them? This is like having a cell phone that you can only listen to.

Reminds me of a little tv my dad had in his workshop. I feel like that is really what it is. a tv that plays only the internet channel.

austinwebb wrote:So if my computer eats itself I can't use it to send emergency emails or update facebook, only read them? This is like having a cell phone that you can only listen to.

If this were meant for emergency PC replacement, yes, you'd be correct. It's not, though.

austinwebb wrote:So if my computer eats itself I can't use it to send emergency emails or update facebook, only read them? This is like having a cell phone that you can only listen to.

According to Chumby's web site, you can update your status on Facebook:
See your Facebook friends' updated status messages, post your own status, and keep up to date on your requests.

I am in for 3 - I am sure I know 2 people who would love this as a gift. As long as they can hack out the ads, which I believe is possible.

Guys & Gals, the chumby doesn't require a battery, this is only if you want to move it from one room to another

austinwebb wrote:Sorry but I read all 5 pages and still nobody has confirmed if there is an actual keyboard that pops up so you can type emails or update your facebook status. Anyone? Bueller?

LOL, I read this comment at 2:31am est. Opened a new tab and pulled up google... and at 2:33am est found the answer... HTH!
Chumby On-screen Keyboard!!

~~Jinx

I'm kinda excited. I think this would be a great little gadget to have on my desk at work playing youtube music videos.

so what battery do it take and where do you get that battery cheap?

This would be cooler if it was big as the picture an i could dock my iPhone on it.

jjiinx wrote:LOL, I read this comment at 2:31am est. Opened a new tab and pulled up google... and at 2:33am est found the answer... HTH!
Chumby On-screen Keyboard!!

~~Jinx

On-screen keyboard only pops up for certain apps. Just cause there's a photo of an on-screen keyboard doesn't mean you'll be able to use it whenever you want.

That's also a beta version from January 2008. You don't know what's changed since then.

I really want to buy this but I think I might just spend another $150-200 and get a Nook Color and put Android on it.

http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/install-android-3-0-honeycomb-and-market-on-nook-color/

Less than half off of what the chumby site is selling them for!

www.chumby.com

JonnoN wrote:Sweet infinity shot!

It's Woot-ception! (Winception?)

I'm hoping seeing this on woot means Chumby is clearing stock and getting ready to release Chumby 8. I've been intrigued by them since the first model in 2007 and I'm hoping they have somewhat kept up with the times, since so much has happened in the last 4 years or so when it comes to apps/widgets.

When it comes down to it I really just want one that works as a fun and multifunctional alarm clock that never has to leave the bedside.

borkmister wrote:Can it run Crysis?

No but it can run Quake

The Chumby One is a totally hackable little device. It runs Linux and all of the hardware is documented.

equazcion wrote:On-screen keyboard only pops up for certain apps. Just cause there's a photo of an on-screen keyboard doesn't mean you'll be able to use it whenever you want.

That's also a beta version from January 2008. You don't know what's changed since then.

This is true. And I was going to edit my post to also mention as others have that the keyboard is not necessarily always available but depends on the apps running, when I saw this reply...
~~Jinx

Hm, some folks have posted you can hack out the ads, and I made the mistake of parroting them in my earlier post. I apologize, as a quick glance at google doesn't confirm any simple hack fix. That being said, it may or may not be possible, but it does break Chumby's Terms of use which states:

You will not: (i) cover or obscure the advertisements on any chumby webpage or other part of the Services by any means.... [section 5.7]

Just sayin...

I like it because it is bucking the trend for wide screen displays. This would probably be good for watching old TV shows on. BTW, have you ever noticed that on TV now-a-days there's not as much sneaking up on the main character during tight shots. That's gotta be a result of the wide screen. The camera could never zoom in enough without revealing what's happening to side.

lamborghiniryder wrote:Did the WOOt-Off end?

woot! never offends.

OK, occasionally it does.

This thing is awesome. I've already had one for a year and I just picked up another!

I can use this to manage my portfolio that Woot has helped me to deplete. In for one!

Sweet infinity shot, Woot. Well played.

also in for one. Years ago i missed out on the Pertelian, another awesome "gadget". They've never had that again and i've been depressed about it to this day.

So chumby here i comeby!

bluejester wrote:I looked on the monitor and saw a picture of the monitor and saw a picture of the monitor in the monitor was a picture of the monitor.......

Would this make a good gift non-computer parents to keep in touch with out of state family?

phacopida wrote:You can follow your friends on facebook and twitter - but can you reply? Keyboard anyone?

With a 3.5" screen, it doesn't even seem like you can read Twitter or Facebook easily.

My first woot in quite a while, I hope I can turn the LCD off when I go to bed and have it go on for the alarm.

I know the digital photoframe I bought got really hot so I stopped using it as an alarm clock, hope this stays cooler

AuntTsTaxi wrote:Would this make a good gift non-computer parents to keep in touch with out of state family?

I doubt it. There is no webcam or microphone so it can't be used for communication, i.e. Skype. At best, you might be able to watch streaming videos from sites like YouTube, if that's your family's mode of communication. You can also see photos from sites like Flicker. But beyond that, don't expect much communicating. You can't even effectively read email since the screen is 3.5".

cherokie wrote:so what battery do it take and where do you get that battery cheap?

It takes a Fuji NP-120 or equivalent. Here's a seller on eBay that has them for $3.77 (shipped) each, and if you buy three they'll include the fourth for free (in case you've got a lot of Chumbys):

eBay batterywholesalers NP-120

I've never done business with this seller, so this isn't a recommendation. I chose this link because they're the only really inexpensive seller I found that ships from the United States. Of course, since Woot! will be shipping the Chumby via SmartPost, you'd have plenty of time to wait for a shipment from Hong Kong...not that they're any less expensive.

I wonder if this will connect to an ad-hoc network..

Also, with all the hacking related posts, and the fact you can mess with the software, bypassing ads is probably easy.