How often do apps come out for this? Could a Sirius app be developed or is that a pipe dream? Sirius makes it a no brainer for me and my non-networked bedroom.

Just to clarify, in the PCMagazine review (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364481,00.asp) The reviewer mentions future updates for music, photos, and videos, and a border around Netflix movies.

The USB updates have all been out for quite some time now, and I have never seen a border around the Netflix movies. They fill up the screen just fine.

beitzell wrote: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!

Wouldn't a real $99 Android-based tablet be a better buy? These Chumby-based Internet viewers offer very little interaction, which most kids want. Otherwise, it's little more than watching TV or listening to the radio. A real tablet offers websurfing as well as better apps. Plus they can use it as an eBook reader, and it's portable (you don't even need an Internet connection to use the tablet). Few kids want to be tethered to an outlet. Many Android 2.1 tablets can be found for $100, and older Android 2.0 tablets are even less.

jimmoffitt wrote: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.

Yeah, the adjustable snooze actually sold it for me. All the web stuff was just delicious gravy. Lot's of choices for alarm tones. I use this really nice chime alarm which is a much better than my alarm that sounds like I have a fire in one of my jet engines.

toddo97 wrote:How often do apps come out for this? Could a Sirius app be developed or is that a pipe dream? Sirius makes it a no brainer for me and my non-networked bedroom.

I don't see rapid app development, but they do come out. There are a lot of silly and, IMHO, useless apps, but there is a core of about 200 apps that I can see as truly useful for most people. For example: local radar is cool; video of a dog licking the inside of the screen as a "screen cleaner"--cute, but why?

To expand an earlier comment I made:
Think of what you would like to be able to do, internet-wise, and largely passively (i.e., what would you like to SEE on the internet, not necessarily interact with) while you lie in bed or cook dinner, etc. Think Pandora, local weather, headlines, traffic cams, videos, calendars etc. Think of reading your mail, but just reading it, not replying. In sum, think of the sites you go to and look at, but don't "interact" with to a large degree.

If Android had a Netflix app it would be easy to pass this up, since you could make it do pretty much everything that this does and then some.
But after doing a little research, it sounds like Android may have to wait a while for Netflix, and even then, only specific, new pieces of hardware may have access. Boo netflix!

sooo... in for 1 for the bedroom... or kitchen if that gets boring

toddo97 wrote:How often do apps come out for this? Could a Sirius app be developed or is that a pipe dream? Sirius makes it a no brainer for me and my non-networked bedroom.

Sony has said that there will be a browser released by Mother's Day...if you have a Sirius web account (not car) you can use the same password/login as you would on the app and just play from the browser...hopefully.

I need to wake up with Howard as well

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

I went from telephone number to telephone number this weekend. I was finally given an email address to write to. I did, and they referred me back to the first number. I had connected with them earlier and they sent an email with the instructions to:
"Please ship your unit to:

Sony Customer Satisfaction Center" NO address. This led to my numerous phone calls and webpage search. After all the calls and emails, no one could tell me the address of this center. I believe it is because Sony Customer satisfaction itself is elusive, if it exists at all.

They also wanted my credit card information. Why? I am thinking I will return the refurbished one to Woot - I would walk away if it had not been given as a gift to a family member who wants it replaced.

mvsopen wrote:This is a Chumby, with Sony's name on it, correct?

Is it as hackable as a Chumby?

It's designed by the same people, but unlike the Chumby, this one's either not hackable or has not been hacked. One of these appeared on the last Woot Off and I searched all over the place for "Sony Dash" and firmware OR root OR hack OR unix. Nada.

You're going to get the experience Sony designed. Until someone gets especially motivated.

sdc100 wrote: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

The reviews for the Infocast is better than the Dash or Chumby but the Infocast looks like a dead product, after only a few months. Insignia is owned by BestBuy, and the BestBuy site is linked at the bottom of the Infocast page. But if you go to BestBuy.com, there is no trace of it. They sell the Sony Dash though. I even tried calling BestBuy as well as several local stores. No staffer had even heard of the Infocast, and according to the the reps, their store databases never had an Infocast. A web search also shows that no one sells it, and Amazon only has a dead page on it, i.e. no reviews, no photos, and only one outside seller (seems like a BestBiy outlet).

We, the Hitchhikers happened? The thing got strong reviews and was only released around June 2010. And the Insignia website still has it, although the webpage is pathetic, at best. Why has no one at BestBuy heard of it, when Insignia is BestBuy's brand? And who were the sellers, if not BestBuy? All traces have been disappeared from Google.

My guess is that Chumby pulled its licensing rights from Insignia, soon after it was sent out to professional reviewers. That explains why there are no consumer reviews and none at stores. VERY strange....

gsaye2009 wrote:Yeah, the adjustable snooze actually sold it for me. All the web stuff was just delicious gravy. Lot's of choices for alarm tones. I use this really nice chime alarm which is a much better than my alarm that sounds like I have a fire in one of my jet engines.

I'm notorious for sleeping through alarms so snooze functions are important to me. I was actually leaning toward the Infocast because of its Backup Alarm feature. Apparently, you can tell the device to activate a much louder alarm after a certain period if you don't respond to the normal alarm. Unfortunately, the Infocast is a dead product so I just bought the Dash. I wonder if the Dash has a similar function.

heynorton wrote:does your iphone have a 7 inch screen?

Or cost $75-$85 with no additional monthly fees?

gwilks98 wrote:What good is an alarm clock that doesn't have a battery in it?

I've owned electronic alarm clocks my entire life and I can honestly say that that I've never had to use the battery backup feature.

thesb wrote:What an odd coincidence. I just posted a teardown today. http://cubiclegnome.blogspot.com

Thanks for the teardown. Almost made me buy, but I'll wait for the firmware hack. I'll buy the Insignia Infocast if you have some in the warehouse, Woot.

jim5554 wrote:If this thing is so hot, why is it being sold on Woot!, the Elephants Graveyard of Technology,at half price?
Just askin'

Because no one needs it. This is a perfect gift for a gadget lover that has all the gadgets they want, but didn't know they wanted this.

I bought one for myself, and I am much happier with it than I thought I would be. First, it's the best alarm clock I've ever had. Plenty loud enough, lots of alarm tones, configurable snooze... And if no one has mentioned it yet, you can schedule the screen to go into night mode (very dim), or turn the backlight off completely, and then schedule it to turn back on in the morning. The combination of the alarm and a bright screen staring me in the face usually wakes me up without much trouble.

When I wake up, I have the weather right there, the latest headlines, a "word of the day" from Merriam Webster, and what the current Woot is. Yes, there is a Woot app. I can listen to Pandora, or if I'm feeling especially lazy, I'll turn on Netflix and watch an episode of whatever anime series I'm into before getting out of bed.

Do I need it? No. Not at all. But am I happy to have it? Sure!

FWIW, for those who have mentioned Android, note that there are both free and paid Chumby apps. Obviously the Dash-specific features aren't part of them, but I thought I'd mention them in case anyone wants to try before they buy.

thesb wrote:What an odd coincidence. I just posted a teardown today. http://cubiclegnome.blogspot.com

Fun blog and good stuff. Thanks for the info.

Hey, I run a small town single screen movie theatre and I was thinking about posting one of these in a window, with an outside speaker set up so I could run a loop of trailers for passersby to watch. Will that work with this thing?

OK, it's officially, I am a Woot Psychic. I decided last night as I set my POS alarm clock that I would buy a Sony Dash from Woot next time it is offered. I wake up and there it is.

Previously, I got fed up with never being able to find a functioning flashlight, so I declared I'd buy one (or two) the next time I could on Woot. I woke up the next morning, and there it was...

mcrawffles wrote:Got one when it was on woot a couple months ago. Not as cool as I thought it'd be.

I bought one a couple months ago here too.... And it's STILL not working.. Wont take a firmware update, and I'm NOT the only one.. Check out the Sony support site - Sony's tech support has been VERY unhelpful. It sits on my desk repeatedly telling me it needs an update, and then not letting me install it.

-Steve

jimmoffitt wrote:OK, it's officially, I am a Woot Psychic. I decided last night as I set my POS alarm clock that I would buy a Sony Dash from Woot next time it is offered. I wake up and there it is.

Previously, I got fed up with never being able to find a functioning flashlight, so I declared I'd buy one (or two) the next time I could on Woot. I woke up the next morning, and there it was...

Oh, and BTW, I'm thinking I need to start my garden soon...

Regarding the lack of a battery... In practice, this is only a minor problem. All of the settings (alarms, app configurations, etc) are all persisted on Sony's server. In the case of a power outage, once the power is restored the unit will power back up and not skip a beat. Obviously, if the power is out while your alarm should be waking you... you're S.O.L.

p.s. I bought one a few weeks ago and quite happy with it.

yikes...I bought one from the amazon.jungle just yesterday....$119.00....and whammmmm...see this and bought another for mrs marshallmellow...life is good!

bkd69 wrote: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.

So if I point it to a playlist on my Squeezebox Server, would it play from there?

Has anyone used this with a Squeezebox Server?

ptufts wrote:It's designed by the same people, but unlike the Chumby, this one's either not hackable or has not been hacked. One of these appeared on the last Woot Off and I searched all over the place for "Sony Dash" and firmware OR root OR hack OR unix. Nada.

You're going to get the experience Sony designed. Until someone gets especially motivated.

It would be a bad idea to "hack" the Sony since even the "official" Chumby guys don't get to touch the stuff that Sony added, and if a hack ever came out, Sony would have a cow and immediately cut access to its "DRM'd" through Sony services (netflix, hulu plus, amazon, crackle).

The closed nature of the Sony unit is what allows it to stream the above features. The open versions of chumby still don't have streaming from those sources, and probably won't since they probably don't trust a product "designed-to-be-hacked".

I own both this Sony unit and a much more hackable Insignia Infocast 8 (eventhough Insignia has reduced/disabled some of the default geeky bits that's available in the Insignia 3.5 which is pretty much a clone of the Chumby one.)

The Sony is a *much* better alarm clock / bedside device that can also stream netflix and crackle and has a much more informative "theme" system that displays chumby apps in a sub window with lots of other useful info around it, the Infocast only displays applications full size and has no themes.

The Infocast 8 has a faster processor, more memory, a resistive touch screen, (I like being able to tap a screen with my fingernail and have it register,) a memory card reader, better speakers, and "easter egg" ssh access to its linux command line. It can only stream (audio-wise, I don't really care about streaming video from my computers to such a small screen) pandora and shoutcast plus Shoutcast channels. Insignia has disabled the media streaming from network sources from the UI, although one can ssh in and run the chumby provided programs from the command line to stream most un-drm'd streams... but it's a bit of a pain the ass to log into a computer to start streaming music on the unit. There also is a web browser for the Infocast 8 that's not supported officially by anybody, but is the alpha version of the one that's in the 8" Chumby8. Also the Infocast 8 lacks an acclerometer that all the other Chumbys and the Sony have, although there is a spot for it on the circuit board that you can solder one in yourself...

So pretty much my Infocast 8 sits in the living room mostly in night mode and on weekends I turn it on to monitor a bunch of webcams I have around the house since I have a netbook I use in the living for browsing the web when I "watch" TV. I haven't spent much time hacking the Infocast, except for logging into it through ssh, and looking through the applications that were installed on it through the linux command line.

The Sony Dash gets used every day as my primary alarm clock that displays the current traffic when I wake up, and every once in a while before I go to sleep I use it to stream some stuff from crackle or netflix since it's much easier to start and shutdown than lugging a laptop into bed with me. (BTW I also have Dash connected to a mini-stereo near my bed, so I don't have to listen to the crappy built in speakers. Even with the line connected and the stereo off, the alarms sound through the built in Dash speakers, which is a good thing, so I don't have to disconnect the line out.)

None of the Chumby's will make a good alarm clock... because one of the tech guys on the chumby infosphere has EXPLICITLY stated that the CHUMBY IS NOT AN ALARM CLOCK, so stop prodding them to add features to make it more suitable as one. IMHO, it would make a great alarm clock if they had added some of the features that Sony has added to the Dash, and I'd be using it a whole lot more that the Sony.

So in conclusion, buy the Sony if you want to use it as a bedside alarm clock with some cool streaming features. If you want to browse the internet, then look else where.

Oh, BTW, my Sony Dash is powered through UPS I had lying around since my computer outgrew the lower capacity of this UPS, so I don't worry about the alarm not sounding if the power goes off... the thing is what happens when the wifi connection is lost... that's why I have a back-up alarm on my phone. ;)

What good would it do me in a car while traveling. I have cell phone and a data plan with AT&T.. but considering I live in the sticks and don't even have 1G service.. Its pretty much useless on the road.

GregGeiger wrote:What good would it do me in a car while traveling. I have cell phone and a data plan with AT&T.. but considering I live in the sticks and don't even have 1G service.. Its pretty much useless on the road. I did a speed test on my AT&T Data.. and I get 88K with 5 bars of signal strength.

I got it a couple months ago. It is pretty nifty, I get to have Pandora wake me up every morning. I never use the snooze, I just lower the volume and hit the "X" in the lower right and let Pandora serenade me for a about 10 mins every morning before I roll out. There is an annoying beep after about 2 mins if you don't hit the "X". I've not used the Netflix yet except to do a test (it worked), I just basically use it as a $70 alarm clock.

I already bought one so the question is late, but how about the WiFi that Fios and Optimum custumers get for free?

Does it detect networks?

Can it be set up with this?

If so it would be a bootleg-low budget "Car internet" with a 12 volt DC inverter to AC voltage.
(Within the covered area of course)

I bought one last time I saw this on woot and I really like it. Just leave it in my kitchen and it's good for checking out the weather and listening to Pandora. Like most people say, it's more or less a glorified alarm clock, but I really enjoy it... just my thoughts.

iguana71 wrote:Or cost $75-$85 with no additional monthly fees?

or not suck?

dingo11 wrote:Hey, I run a small town single screen movie theatre and I was thinking about posting one of these in a window, with an outside speaker set up so I could run a loop of trailers for passersby to watch. Will that work with this thing?

Should work nicely!

So this picture - looks suspiciously like the 3-D putt-putt golf course in Wilderness Resort, it does...

jim5554 wrote:If this thing is so hot, why is it being sold on Woot!, the Elephants Graveyard of Technology,at half price?
Just askin'

Because there's a new v.2 (with battery backup) coming out very soon

jimmoffitt wrote:OK, it's officially, I am a Woot Psychic. I decided last night as I set my POS alarm clock that I would buy a Sony Dash from Woot next time it is offered. I wake up and there it is.

Previously, I got fed up with never being able to find a functioning flashlight, so I declared I'd buy one (or two) the next time I could on Woot. I woke up the next morning, and there it was...

Can you declare that you'll buy a good gaming rig if Woot puts one up for sale tomorrow? I know a few people in the market for one.

jimmoffitt wrote:OK, it's officially, I am a Woot Psychic. I decided last night as I set my POS alarm clock that I would buy a Sony Dash from Woot next time it is offered. I wake up and there it is.

Previously, I got fed up with never being able to find a functioning flashlight, so I declared I'd buy one (or two) the next time I could on Woot. I woke up the next morning, and there it was...

Ok, well I need a few things, a ipod touch 4g batt case, a 5w cree led. a 32gb flash drive.

This is the greatest alarm clock known to man (if it had a backup battery). It is incredibly adjustable and I honestly dont think you could get at better one for the price.

As a tablet, it sucks but I dont think that is what it was really meant for. It is nice being able to check weather and news first thing in the morning but dont expect it to do too much beyond that (it does stream Netflix though which is pretty cool). I have some other apps running but they dont blow my mind and I couldnt imagine playing games on it.

Just remember, it cant be all things for under a hundred bucks. Set your expectations appropriately and you should be happy. Buy this as your alarm clock to wake you up to play angry birds on you woot rooted and upgraded gtablet!

sdc100 wrote:The reviews for the Infocast is better than the Dash or Chumby but the Infocast looks like a dead product, after only a few months. Insignia is owned by BestBuy, and the BestBuy site is linked at the bottom of the Infocast page. But if you go to BestBuy.com, there is no trace of it. They sell the Sony Dash though. I even tried calling BestBuy as well as several local stores. No staffer had even heard of the Infocast, and according to the the reps, their store databases never had an Infocast. A web search also shows that no one sells it, and Amazon only has a dead page on it, i.e. no reviews, no photos, and only one outside seller (seems like a BestBiy outlet).

We, the Hitchhikers happened? The thing got strong reviews and was only released around June 2010. And the Insignia website still has it, although the webpage is pathetic, at best. Why has no one at BestBuy heard of it, when Insignia is BestBuy's brand? And who were the sellers, if not BestBuy? All traces have been disappeared from Google.

My guess is that Chumby pulled its licensing rights from Insignia, soon after it was sent out to professional reviewers. That explains why there are no consumer reviews and none at stores. VERY strange....

The Infocast's (3.5" and the 8") were recently marked down to $50 and $80 respectively, presumably to clear out inventory. One of my 2 local stores still had a couple of the small ones in stock, and possibly the other had an 8" I had returned, unless it's resold already (or was defect'ed out and shipped back), and unknown quantity of 3.5" ones.

I saw a post that they were that cheap 5-6 weeks ago, and picked up one of each to try out. I'd have happily kept both if they were both good. The small one works well as a portable internet radio, and had nice sound. I suppose it would make a good clock radio, but I never bothered with that. The large one just didn't _do_ enough to be worth it, and I didn't see enough information about it being hackable enough to be worth keeping for _that_. Plus, since most 3rd party apps were written for the small screen Chumbys, the videos that would play on it, like from the Craig Ferguson app, would be in a little box in the center of the screen, and crap resolution to boot.

Having Netflix, for the same price I had paid for the 8" Infocast, makes this totally worth it.

gsaye2009 wrote: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.

The key thing is that it is completely programmable to do whatever you want - whenever you want.

I have mine automatically go dark during those times I am normally not at home or asleep. I have it automatically turn on and display the time during the time I normally wake up and am at home.

I really like it, but it's not a PC, it's not a web terminal, and it's not a replacement for a real computer of any type. It's a unique "appliance" that uses Internet sources to display information to you. It is somewhat interactive, but many of the things you need to configure have to be done via the Sony/Chumby website.

This is not a problem once you understand that the Dash has a limited capability for input and the input it does support is sometimes tedious and slow. I find that popping onto the website with my computer is much more efficient and gets me what I really want on the Dash quickly. Any changes you make online are immediately reflected on your Dash. Very slick.

Again, I'm happy with mine and I have not had any trouble with it at all - and it did a firmware update a week or so ago, and it went smoothly. So far, so good.

-Bob