borntohunt wrote:Consumer Electronic Show 2010: Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer

Bauer talks with Sony about their new all in tabletop viewer. The Dash basically takes your alarm clock, tablet, smart phone, picture frame, web browser and jumbles it all into one small affordable, touchscreen device.

Congrats on the Guide Entry for a DP. lol

So if all the settings are stored on the Chummy server, Would this become a brick like my ESPN remote is now that their server is defunk, if Chummy were to go under?

girlrits00 wrote:It will play a Pandora station as an alarm. From the main My Stations page in Pandora select your station, then hit Options, then Save To Alarms (and then instructions will pop up on-screen). Then over on the Alarms setup menu hit Advanced, Add Alarm, {set your time}, then Music & Video, and select your station you saved.

Voila! Your Pandora or Slacker station will then sound as your alarm.

Sweet! Thanks! Clunky to do, with having to add each station manually from the Pandora app, but at least it works now!

the inputs/outputs section of the specifications says it has a microphone. I wonder if there is a skype app for it.

jstiles85 wrote:Not seeing anything this does that my iPhone doesn't. I'll pass.

does your iphone have a 7 inch screen?

can i attach an external hdd or even a Usb key to the usb port and play videos on the external device? i know it has a headphone jack, but does it have video out? am i correct that the wifi is 54mb? i am sorry but i am asking while using a cell because at work woot is actually blocked in our firewalll (cause of 500 employees all trying to get the Big o' Cosmos)

Does it light up a lot at night? I can't determine if it just goes off or if you can still see the time/date at night on a minimally bright display.

capoeiraxfist wrote:I'm on the verge of picking one up. I originally wanted one of these, but the chumby one was on woot first, so I picked that up.

I love the chumby one, but there's a few things I think that I wanted from it that the dash has:

- Ability to post time AND weather continuously, while cycling through the other fun/info/bs apps. I use it a lot for weather but I hate having to wait until it cycles to it.

- dash seems to have other apps that chumby does not.

- netflix and amazon vod, which chumby doesn't have.

-bigger screen

To those that purchased both, what are your thoughts?

Dash over chumby. I have both. Gave the chumby to my 4 year old. Just got two more. One as gift other for a second in the home.

rawrlolsauce wrote:If I can't play World of Warcraft on it, or if it isn't a cheeseburger, I'm not buying it. That's my rule.

NICE... very nice. Thanks for the laugh.

CONs:
No browser
I also am worried it's using bandwidth

1) Browser will be included in time from Mother's Day.
2) Yes, it clearly is, but not enough to interfere with your "skype experience"

byaspan wrote:Does it light up a lot at night? I can't determine if it just goes off or if you can still see the time/date at night on a minimally bright display.

When you switch to Night Mode, either by scheduling a time to go into Night Mode, or just by pressing the Night Mode icon on the menu, the Dash goes to a very low light mode and shows the time in large numbers. You can also schedule or simply turn off the display by holding the menu button for a few seconds.

This is going to go great with my Star Trek Theme home. I am going to mount a few of these fitted with small speakers thru out my home and I shall live long and prosper!!

One quick question, and if it has been answered, I apologize: can you dim the screen?

I got one, and It would be everything I wanted if the Pandora alarm didn't suck. If I set my alarm to wake up with Pandora playing, it will always play a really annoying alarm on top of my Pandora music 2 minutes after the alarm goes off. So if I want to wake up to some chill Pandora music, 2 minutes after it starts, it just rattles my brain with an annoying backup alarm. They say they are planning on fixing it in some indefinite amount of time on their forums, but it seems to have been an issue for quite some time now.

Hey maybe this one will work, not like the refurbished one.I have yet to sit on the phone with SONY to get working!!

kokeman36 wrote:Is there a browser or a browser app?
Does it support flesh?

A browser is going to be released in time for Mother's Day.
It supports flesh AND plastic.

Sony will be releasing a Browser App in time for Mother's Day. It will support flash.

RWoodward wrote:Waking up during a power outage.

You mean totally blow an perfectly valid opportunity to show up for work late? ;)

KidKobun wrote:One quick question, and if it has been answered, I apologize: can you dim the screen?

Yup. It has a dim "night" mode. Tap the screen and it brightens.

I put my Chumby @ my backyard bar, can listen to Pandora, iHeart Radio, MP3's, browse facebook while we are drinking, or play Jatravartid games @ the bar. I really think it's cool out there where I don't want to drag my laptop out.

phprogrammer wrote:

Anyone who doesn't already know what they want to do with it is better off getting a real tablet.

DignDingDing! We have a win-ah!

In scanning through the posts I thought I would throw in my .02 on this device

So I have a chumby one (picked up last year at maker faire) and I picked up the wife a Dash for her nightstand

The dash is alot more sexier looking then the chumby (it's like the dash went off to school).

The biggest issue of the dash is that not all chumby apps work on the dash (wife was looking forward to TFLN before she goes to sleep..)

The second issue is that unlike the chumby where the alarms are all groupped together you have to set up pandora's alarm in pandora and dash's alarm in dash (to those who are concerned I always recommend a default alarm 1 snooze cycle after the internet alarm)

However pro wise.. alot easier to read then the chumby, the time / weather on top is a great feature.. and netflix although not ideal.. is definatly watchable. However unlike the xbox only shows what is in your queue not suggested viewing

Glad I bought it, not going to replace the C1 thought.

Also.. to the post about the Pan Digital (as I also have that device..) No way would i consider this a viable alarm clock. Its flimsy at best and its alarm capibilities are extremely limited (and yes I have taken it to the next step)

Final thought.. if your apartment is like mine (where the internet is on the other side of the building). I would strongly suggest picking up a wireless repeater. As both the C1 and the Sony Dash are both G.. they have issues with wireless distance (or just use your phone as a wifi hotspot)

Being able to listen to Pandora as I fall asleep. Then waking up and watching an episode or 2 of some old cartoon off my Netflix list. Best two things about it, the alarm is a close 3rd. Bought the Chumby while back the Sony Dash last time was on here, definitely like the Dash over Chumby.

I see you can put some QT web client on it. Also I'm going to try a 9.6v RC car battery velcro'd to the back to see if I can make it portable.

Yea! Finally got one after missing the last 2 offerings. I'm also fine with the $10 for new.

Is it here yet?

Jabroninator wrote:Can you stream content over your wireless network from your PC?

You can plug in any streaming URL with a .m3u or .pls extension, so if you can serve up your playlists as streams, such as http://mymediastore/fleshlightjams.pls or http://192.168.1.150/hotlist.m3u, then yes.

bmw66x wrote:Is this the newer version of the Dash or the same one from a few weeks back?

It's the same as from a few weeks back, but now we have news that Sony will be including a browser and that will be available by Mother's Day

can this thing be mounted on a wall?

black wrote:I was wondering this same thing.

This would be perfect for a small kids first tablet. I wouldn't mind it if the 5 year old tore up an 80 dollar piece.

I would be unhappy if the same happened to my 500 dollar iPad.

All it really needs is Angry Birds and you have an instant portable babysitter!

jtnet wrote:Can this access DROPBOX .mp3s and play them? or stream .mp3 from a networked device or folder on another computer via wifi network?

Jabroninator wrote:Can you stream content over your wireless network from your PC?

With no mention of DLNA in the specs, and several reviews that specifically say "No DLNA," I'd say you're both boned.

zeroelement wrote:MY question is what good are internet viewers? I got a Droid and an Laptop what use would this be?

Don't think of this as an Internet browser, it is just a viewer.

Don't think of it as a iPad or any other mobile device.

Think of it as a glorified picture frame or better yet alarm clock.

I keep mine on my nightstand and use it as an alarm clock and "newspaper". I wake up to my Pandora station as my alarm clock. I believe I paid $99 for mine so this is a good price.

-Steve.

pjohnston007 wrote:The Dash also works flawlessly with Netflix on days when other devices (TV, Blu-Ray) stutter.

Nicely done, Sony.

7" screen = less data than a TV or Blu-Ray = less stutter?

I bought this last time around and love it. It's a pain to set up but once you get a hang of it you'll love it. I use it as an alarm clock to wake up to Pandora radio every morning and I also have it set to update me on all sports scores and top world headlines. Once you register the unit all the app updating is done through your home pc and then it is automatically updated on your dash.

Several points:

Re: Microsoft Exchange. I don't know of an app for that, but there is one that can read e-mail in a POP3 account. ("Read" is the key word. Forget about replying or otherwise managing your mail on this thing.)

I have a couple of filters set up on my main e-mail account that forward copies of particularly important messages to a Gmail account that the Dash can display -- rather than trying to use it to scroll through every message in my main account -- but that's mostly because I can.

On a related note, it's possible to tweet using the Dash, but while I've done so for novelty's sake, it's not generally worth the bother. Better to use your computer or phone.

Re: web browser coming around Mother's Day. This may happen, but don't expect it to be particularly fast or responsive. I stand by "think of this as a clock radio, not a tablet"; if your hopes for this device rely upon getting a browser soon, this probably isn't for you.

Re: screen brightness. As mentioned, there are two modes, and you can adjust the brightness of both the regular and night modes separately.

Re: lack of an alarm during a power outage. This has been true of most conventional alarm clocks I've had as well, but it's a fair point. If you live somewhere where power outages are common, you'll probably want an alarm clock that you don't plug in. (And then you'll want to make sure to wind it up or change the batteries regularly.)

Re: need for servers. Yes, if Sony and Chumby cease operations, this will probably stop working. This does strike me as a legitimate concern, but not one I'm worried about happening anytime soon.

Re: wall mounting. It's not really designed for that; your best approach would probably be to make a small shelf for it?

The New 2011 Sony Dash Web Viewer is not expected to arrive until Summer, with most reports & rumors saying Mid-Summer 2011 which sounds more like August. No details on New Model Prices until Summer 2011, but most reports expecting below current common average price of $150. In web searches on the New 2011 Model, you'll notice several Sony official press releases listed in web cache BUT have been REMOVED.

The 2011 Consumer Electonic Show revealed only a few New 2011 Sony Dash Viewer features:
- Rechargeable Lithium ION Battery for Portablility
- Larger Speaker on the Back
- 3 New Colors - Orange, Brown, Blue

Engadget CES 2011 New Model Details

Trends Updates CES 2011 Photos of New Model Sony Dash Web Viewer

Sony Insider CES 2011 New Model Arriving in U.S. Summer 2011

PC Mag Summary on New Model Sony Dash at CES 2011

New Model Sony Dash Hands-On CES 2011 for 2 min. Video Overview

How does the Sony Dash compare to the 8" Insignia Infocast? According to the Insignia website, the Infocast works with 1,500 Chumbt apps. Does that mean that it's more compatible than the Sony Dash?

http://insigniaproducts.com/connected/infocast.html

I just got my second one. Think of this as the best clock you've ever owned. Mine wakes me with a gentle chime (adjustable snooze time!) and then I can turn over in bed and check my mail, check my friends' latest Facebook posts (no true interaction with Facebook, though), get my local weather report, check the weather radar, and see the headlines from the New York Times. I use it in the kitchen, too. It turns on just before I get home and I use it for news, recipes, and watching a quick video while I cook dinner. It is NOT a web-browser, but it's worth the Woot price, for sure.

tonypaladino wrote:can this thing be mounted on a wall?

There is nothing in the case that suggests this (no hook holds), but I imagine it would be easy to jury-rig something very simple. It is light enough that velcro or one of those removable picture hook things would work fine.

I need a new alarm clock, and the key thing is that my wife agrees since she smoothly acquired my old school one years ago. I replaced that one with a cheap $10 ebay purchase that is a POS.

So I look forward to seeing this super cool and powerful ALARM CLOCK. I'm not looking for a tablet or ipad to be anchored to my night stand.

I have always wanted an alarm clock with configurable snooze time. Everything else is icing on the cake.

byaspan wrote:Does it light up a lot at night? I can't determine if it just goes off or if you can still see the time/date at night on a minimally bright display.

You can set the screen brightness, turn off the display completely, and have it shut off or dim (and brighten) the display for any time you wish.