Hopefully there won't be a lot of update problems that a lot of people had last time Woot sold the new units (myself included).

Just a heads up for any who buy one and it won't update. You can either contact Sony for an RMA to send to Texas to fix it or check the blog from the last sale to download the patch to fix it yourself. Woot was no help at all.

Sony HID-C10 Support Weblink

fxfuji wrote:You can think of it this way... are you more of a Mac person than a Linux person? iPhone/iPad or Android smartphone/tablet? If you lean towards the Apple camp, the Dash may be a better choice for you than the Chumby. But if you enjoy tweaking and hacking your Linux/Android toys, skip the Dash and go for the Chumby.

Have to totally disagree with you here. If you are buying it as a hacking toy, then sure the Chumby may be better for you. I am a computer geek and love tinkering with stuff, I flash my own phones, update roms on tablets, etc, but I prefer the Dash over the Chumby mainly due to its screen being twice the resolution, perfect for DVD/Netflix, etc. I do not own an Apple product...

Quick Start Guide

keepu wrote:Have they updated this thing so it's more than just a poorly designed alarm clock with a few widgets?

Not yet..

But I am sure that it is still better than my Altaz AZICR101 3.5-Inch Internet Clock Radio.

Does this thing have a battery? Or does it require a cord in bed?

hockeybud0 wrote:Does this thing have a battery? Or does it require a cord in bed?

cord

this may be a Jatravartid question but is this affected by the Sony Online Entertainment/Playstation Network Shutdown

I was looking to pick this up for an alarm clock while I'm teaching in South Korea, but I read this on one of Sony's FAQs for the device:

I live outside the US. If I get a Dash and take it back with me, will it still work?

The Dash is currently sold and can only be used in the US. The Dash doesn’t support service outside of the US until further notice. If you try to use Dash outside of the US, then you’ll get an “error” blocking service

Nifty device otherwise, though. I'd pick one up happily if that situation was different.

EDIT:
Alrighty, found an updated post from Sony, mentioning this:

Overall, you’ve been asking to access Dash in countries around the globe and the Dash team heard folks loud and clear. I have great news to share as the restrictions that prevented Dash from initializing and working outside of the USA has been removed. W00T!

So that clears up that. Nice. Not sure how well Netflix or Pandora would work from Seoul, though. Does anybody know?

hockeybud0 wrote:Does this thing have a battery? Or does it require a cord in bed?

Click on the picture brah. The answer lies there. (power cord)

hockeybud0 wrote:Does this thing have a battery? Or does it require a cord in bed?

It requires a cord in bed, unlike some other objects you may take there!

The power cord plugs in nicely under the unit with a little latch that prevents it from pulling out easily. The rubberized sides make it easy to hold when you need to, and you can lean it up against the wall and other objects to get the right screen angle without it falling since the rubber grips well.

I bought one last time and I really like it. I had been looking for an alarm clock that keeps perfect time and allows me to wake up to radio streams via the internet. For these purposes this unit is perfect. For other uses the interface is a bit clunky. Setup was very easy for me except fo the fact that you must manually enter the address for the music streams you want but once there set up you are good to go. It's also very easy to set up multiple alarms and schedule them for specific days and times.

I think that the screen is too small for watching movies (that's what laptops and iPads are for). I also have not found much use for the other available applications.

I paid $79.99 and I thought it was a good deal. The current deal has me tempted to pick up another...

rileyper wrote:this may be a Jatravartid question but is this affected by the Sony Online Entertainment/Playstation Network Shutdown

no

No battery. It must be connected to AC power at all times.

Gotweed04 wrote:Its a miniature ipad... aka an ipod Touch knock off...

which is technical what the ipad was in the first place.

So it's an Ipad knockoff which was an ipod touch knockoff which was an olympus mrobe 500 knockoff which was an iriver u10 knockoff. You probably haven't heard of the u10....I liked touchscreens before they were mainstream.

borntohunt wrote:Previous Woot Sale

Previous But More Recent Woot Sale

By the way, for those with questions about the device: it's probably already been answered on one or both of these previous forums, so you might want to check 'em out! =)

The Sony Chumby Connection

Both web links below go to same place on the web:

http://www.sony.com/mydash

http://dash.chumby.com/

So is this pretty much just a big iPod?

n3ckr0 wrote:Amazon must have unholy stocks of these things, because they have been pushing the crap out of these for months now.

When I was on the phone with Sony's Dash tech support the lady told me that she had just had some hands on with the Dash 2, so I am sure Sony is pushing these out to shortly introduce it.

HID-C10 Important Information Guide

Just a heads-up to anyone who intends to use it for Facebook - there are at least two FB apps, both of which work decently. One of them shows a photo slideshow pulled from your friends' profiles, and the other is a more "standard" view of your news feed etc.

As far as I can tell, BOTH of them are incompatible with the new (optional) FB security feature that requires you to authorize each computer that logs into your FB account. You can tell Facebook to send you a text message code the first time you log in from an unrecognized computer.

The Dash apps apparently don't trigger the text message, and even if they did, there's no way for you to enter the code to authorize the Dash. If you're not using this FB feature, then no worries.

EPUB reader, pretty please? Its my killer app and my deal-maker/breaker.

Latest Firmware Update Download & Installation Instructions

Filename : update.zip
Version : 1.7.1371
Last Modified : 04/25/2011
Size : 82.52 MB

A Reminder on Woot's Features Description below:

This batch of Sony Dash product is loaded with Firmware versions 1.7.1254 to 1.7.1304, there are no 1.0.1111 versions which has caused issues for customers during updates.

This is what I thought of when Woot had the Velocity Micro Cruz the other day (actually thought this was what it was at first glance of the picture). For $10 more I could get something with an actual battery and browser (and, according to some of the other comments here, is more friendly to me monkeying with its inner workings), I think I made the right call when I hit the "I want one" button on that particular item!!!

Will this one access Cisco 1000e?

supersat wrote:On the other hand, these draconian security measures are probably required for the Netflix and Hulu functionality, so if you're looking for that, this is the only Chumby device for you.

Then again... This is Sony security we are talking about, if someone really wanted too, I'm sure they could hack it (ie. PSN)!

I think everyone has summed it up. If you want the 'Lamborghini' of Alarm Clocks, get a Dash. If you something to hack with, get a Chumby.

n3ckr0 wrote:Amazon must have unholy stocks of these things, because they have been pushing the crap out of these for months now.

And I love them for it. A pity I've been forbidden from Wooting until we move in two weeks, otherwise I would be all over this for the second time. Actually, I'd get two - one for the kitchen, and one for the bath.

You want to consider this if you've been looking for:

a: a clock radio
b: a digital picture frame
c: an alarm clock ipod dock
or
d: a streaming media player

It is NOT an alternative to an ereader, tablet/ipad, portable mp3 player/ipod, or laptop.

If you want to stream your own music to it, you need to be running a webserver on your LAN, that serves .m3u or .pls playlists from your media store.

phacopida wrote:So this is a tablet, right?

NO ---> See Sony's answer below.

Sony's Answer to "Can dash™ be used as a tablet?"

"The dash Personal Internet Viewer is intended to streamline your online experiences. The dash viewer is NOT considered a tablet as it is NOT meant to browse the Internet, store data, or perform as a traditional computer. Using the dash viewer, you can access free available apps and online media content (video clips, full-length movies, Internet radio, television shows and photos) directly on the device."

How loud is the dash? It takes a medium sized freight train to reliably wake me up.

Can I crank this thing up to 11? Any heavy sleepers out there who own one care to comment?

gundamrawl wrote: but two caveats: don't expect any decent customer service from Sony if you have a problem,

Maybe I just got lucky, but the lady that helped me out provided one of the best phone tech support service calls I have ever had. She knew exactly what the problems were, no flowchart reading answers, and despite a few obstacles was able to fix it during my phone call. I have been doing computer repair / IT work for the past 10 years so have dealt with LOTS of tech support services. The Dash support I experienced was cream of the crop.

Probably hoping against hope, but does it have A/V jacks to allow for hooking up DVD players or things like that?

jjdarling wrote:How loud is the dash? It takes a medium sized freight train to reliably wake me up.

Can I crank this thing up to 11? Any heavy sleepers out there who own one care to comment?

I find it gets quite loud. Also, the alarm volumes can be set independently of the system volume, and each of the other alarms.

theguruguys wrote:When I was on the phone with Sony's Dash tech support the lady told me that she had just had some hands on with the Dash 2, so I am sure Sony is pushing these out to shortly introduce it.

YES, the '2.0' is due very soon and it is BATTERY powered; and YES that is why these are being dumped. They can also be found on Newegg and Buy.com (for mo' money).

Why shouldn't they come back to Woot to clear out their warehouses, many DASH sales here have soldout. Can't argue with success.

a.

jjdarling wrote:How loud is the dash? It takes a medium sized freight train to reliably wake me up.

Can I crank this thing up to 11? Any heavy sleepers out there who own one care to comment?

It's louder than you would expect, and some of the alarm tones can really go crazy. I like the fact that you can choose a gentle alarm tone to slowly amp up as you awake from dozing, or if you need to get up quick choose one of the more agressive ones. When I get home I will take my decibel meter and see exactly how loud it is!

-GG

hustlertwo wrote:Probably hoping against hope, but does it have A/V jacks to allow for hooking up DVD players or things like that?

Nope, but it does have a USB port to connect flash a flash drive, and it's in a recessed bay with an attached cover, so if you get a low profile memory stick, you can close it up without having the ugly protuberance effect.

Sony Dash Viewer Apps Guide Listed by Category

Over 1,000 FREE Apps!

bkd69 wrote:Nope, but it does have a USB port to connect flash a flash drive, and it's in a recessed bay with an attached cover, so if you get a low profile memory stick, you can close it up without having the ugly protuberance effect.

I...don't see how that's even remotely related to what I was talking about, but OK.

Only question left for me is: does this do anything a tablet can't? I don't have a tablet yet, and I get the feeling once I buy one it will completely usurp this thing's functions. Even the alarm clock element itself; aren't most tablets able to do that?

Alfredenigma wrote:So its a chumby minus the cuteness?!

If you want cute, buy a puppy.
If you want netflix streaming and a better "alarm clock", get the dash.
If you want to hack, get a chumby.

I have an infocast 8 (very similar to a Chumby 8) and a Sony Dash. The Infocast sits in the living room just displaying the time in night mode. The Sony Dash sits in my bedroom used daily as my primary alarm clock and to check out the weather and traffic when I wake up.

For $75, there is no better alarm clock for a geek.

What kind of alarm clock has no battery backup?!?

So if the power goes out in the night, I miss work?

Gotweed04 wrote:Its a miniature ipad... aka an ipod Touch knock off...

which is technical what the ipad was in the first place.

Not even close. Unlike the iPod Touch/iPad, it can run Flash. In fact, the Chumby and Dash can be described as a Flash application devices -- basically their widgets are in some sense running Flash.

On the negative side, the Dash doesn't have a browser and needs to be plugged into a wall socket for power, so the Apple devices are better for general-purpose portable Internet browsing. Also, no camera, GPS, 3G, etc.

At a superficial level -- touchscreen devices with Internet connectivity -- the Dash and the iPad are related, but they are more different than alike imho.