jeffreydurbin wrote:Thanks for your post. I got two of the Cruz eReaders from Woot for my kids for getting good grades. We have had some issues with memory management because it doesn't seem to recognize the 16GBSDHC cards I popped in.

I was considering getting one of the Sony Dash devices for my wife but it appears it really isn't a "personal internet device". Our neighbor is a Sony marketing exec so I think he must have one in the house. I'll get his input but I think the smart play is to wait for the Cruz to go back on sale here.

I think I honestly admitted last time that the Cruz R101 is not a great tablet by any means. It's strictly atarter unit tablet-wise, but does make an excellent eReader. And given the minimal price difference with the Dash, it's also a great alternative to these Chumby device. Android based devices are simply a lot more flexible. And that's important for kids -- not to mention the cordless portability.

I think I graded the Cruz R101 a C as a tablet but an A as a "Personal Internet Viewer."

I don't know your kids' needs but you should definitely download the Dolphin HD browser because it rivals a desktop browser in terms of power. It has tabbing as well as add-ons. Also, look around for a better media player which can accept more formats. And, of course, download Amazon's Android Marketplace because they give away one free app a day.

I haven't tried a 16gb SD card yet but it works fine with 8 gb. If you or your kids are into hacking, the Cruz is very hackable. There are all kinds of unofficial upgrades, and you can even increase its speed. I'm a wimp so I haven't tried anything radical yet.

As for the Dash, I don't think you can go wrong, as long as you want an interactive stationary alarm clock with lots of bells and whistles, including video streaming (which a cheap tablet cannot do well, if at all). I plan to install a Chumby-based device in my bathroom so that I can get radio. Living in a NYC, I can't get good off-the-air reception so streaming is the way to go.

roadhunter wrote:Stop saying it's an alarm clock! Why would anyone need an alarm clock when we all have cell phones?
This is a Netflix viewing device. Nothing more, nothing less. The only other thing it might be useful for is mounting in elevators or restrooms so people can watch the news and weather scroll by.

Yeah we all have cell phones... so? My cell phone sits in the kitchen on the charger at night, and while it can work as an alarm clock a more dedicated device (like this) works much better. These are fine alarm clocks, and it's kind of cool falling asleep looking at webcams!

spidusb wrote:No browser included! Not www enabled! Sent it back. Not a tablet substitute.

Well, it was never intended to be a tablet substitute, and at $69, we shouldn't expect it to be (although you can find cheap Chinese tablets for that price). I tend to think of my cheap $79 Cruz tablet as a Dash substitute (with more options) rather than the other way around. The new Chumby 8 retails for $200 though, so you an definitely criticize that for not being tablet.

As for a browser, SOny had promised one by Mother's Day 2011 but it apparently never materialized. Rumor has it that Sony has basically abandoned the current Dash in favor of an upcoming model. That will probably have a browser built-in.

mvsopen wrote:I know that this is identical to a Chumby, except branded by Sony. Can they be hacked as easily as a Chumby can?

Bueller? Frye? Anyone?

Not identical to the Chumby. It is custom-designed by Chumby and made by Sony. It has a more powerful processor, graphics, better screen, better storage. It is not "hackable" in the Chumby sense but some people are hacking it in non-sanctioned ways.

It plays Netflix and other video services that Chumby does not support. It has many features that Chumby does not have, but also cannot do many things that the Chumby can do.

It depends on Sony Style online service which is getting harder to use every day--it seems to be abandoned by Sony, at least from my point of view after setting up three of these so far.

whatsamattaU wrote:For what it's worth, Thanks for what you do.

Awwww shucks, right back at ya.
Your 217 Quality Posts provides an incentive for me to post more.

sdc100 wrote:I've always found it fascinating that the Dash description says that there are 1000+ apps while the Chumby claims 1500+ apps, although they use the same core operating system.

That's because they don't use the same core operating system.

The Dash is a highly customized Chumby and many apps do not run on it. However, many excellent apps like Netflix only run on the Dash.

Read more.

kjrehberg wrote:Not identical to the Chumby. It is custom-designed by Chumby and made by Sony. It has a more powerful processor, graphics, better screen, better storage. It is not "hackable" in the Chumby sense but some people are hacking it in non-sanctioned ways.

It plays Netflix and other video services that Chumby does not support. It has many features that Chumby does not have, but also cannot do many things that the Chumby can do.

It depends on Sony Style online service which is getting harder to use every day--it seems to be abandoned by Sony, at least from my point of view after setting up three of these so far.

Yep, which may explain why Sony and Woot honestly say that it can use 1000+ apps while Chumby claims to have 1500+ apps. Theguruguys thinks that the numerical difference is an exaggeration but agrees that some Chumby sapps won't work on the Dash.

norm401 wrote:Can this be used as an e-reader?

Not really, and you really wouldn't want to hold this thing anyway. I find it strange the a desktop device like the Dash would have an accerleromenter to determine if it's in landscape or portrait.

sdc100 wrote:Not really, and you really wouldn't want to hold this thing anyway. I find it strange the a desktop device like the Dash would have an accerleromenter to determine if it's in landscape or portrait.

That's so you can lay the Dash either fully upright...or turn it over and it will be angled to face up a lot more. Easier to type on (should the urge overcome you to actually post on FB while viewing the Dash...or enter in additional info. for configuring certain apps), and in some cases, such as if on a low coffee table, easier to see.

Bought one the last time it appeared on deals.woot (I think).

Certainly not portable, but a lot of neat features makes this the best $75 alarm clock I have ever seen. We bought it to be our daughter's first alarm clock and she loves all of the animal-themed and silly keyboard applications you can download for it, as well as the birthday/Christmas countdown apps.

Since she doesn't like the idea of having strange noises awaken her in the morning (she has good common sense), we have decided to put it in our guest room so that guests can enjoy Netflix, Hulu, etc.!

Also makes a nice digital frame with USB drive.

Pretty neat little device for $75. Get it!

It was nice at first... until I had an 8 hour power outage. When my power came back on, and I re-established my internet connection, and set up my router (identical to what it was before), the lovely issues began. I was no longer able to get connectivity on the Dash. I reset it several times, and even humored the so called 'tech support' at Sony when they asked me to do it again, and again, and again. Their support truly sucks, and to this day, this thing is nothing but a paper weight sitting on my nightstand... not working. Actually, for the short 2 weeks that it did work, it was slow and movies from Netflix would freez up frequently (it was buffering), but it was choppy at best. Then again, I didn't expect it to be like watching movies on my PC.

Oh and it does make an excellent alarm clock.

$10 cheaper then last time. They have the dash 2 coming out soon. Like others said, it's a great alarm clock!

I know it's late in the day to be asking a question, but will this product access "www.starfall.com", sproutonline, or pbskids.org? It would be nice to have a semi-portable tablet that my three-year-old would be able to learn on. If the tablet is too fragile, no problem, I'l move on.

If there's no way to access general sites, then exactly HOW is it a "personal internet viewer"?

I had one that I planned to use at work as an internet radio/photo viewer. It exceeded my expectations at home, but my work wifi required a click through "terms of agreement" which you need a browser to do. If a browser app became available I would buy again. Picture quality is great and I found many useful apps

Moueska wrote:I know it's late in the day to be asking a question, but will this product access "www.starfall.com", sproutonline, or pbskids.org? It would be nice to have a semi-portable tablet that my three-year-old would be able to learn on. If the tablet is too fragile, no problem, I'l move on.

If there's no way to access general sites, then exactly HOW is it a "personal internet viewer"?

It does not access general sites. It accesses media served over the Internet specifically tailored to devices like this by means of various established "Web-enabled Services." You *view* internet content over this thing...but only internet content that conforms to the types of feeds it's firmware was designed to handle. It's designed to handle feeds from Amazon video, Pandora, hulu, weather.com, etc in a slick & polished way. These devices are called appliances. They have a specific set of capabilities built into it to make your internet experience less Browser-oriented. What you're interested in is kinda the opposite.

SputnikHQ wrote:I've got a friend that has Mrs. Dash in her kitchen and swears by it. Is this a more masculine version or what?
Vegas

Yes. Not very masculine, however, when he tells the story of being delivered by his Aunt Jemima when Dr Pepper wasn't available. "Salt of the Earth" he was branded by His Uncle J Beam.

I'm in the "it's fine for what it is" camp. I didn't buy this looking for a tablet. I bought it as an alarm clock +. Yes, my phone works fine for an alarm clock, but for me personally, it's just easier having a dedicated alarm clock since my phone (and most phones from what I've read/experienced) tend to run a bit hot if you listen to music on them for a long period of time while they are plugged in. The fact that I can watch movies, listen to music, read news and check weather on my alarm clock makes it worth paying 75 bucks for. Again, all stuff I could do with my phone, but I also like having the larger screen and just being able to allow my phone to charge at night.

It's not the greatest thing ever. Like others have said, the UI isn't great but it's good enough if you aren't trying to use it as a tablet. If you expect a lot out of it, you'll be disappointed. But for it's price point, it's solid and it does what it says it will do. The one thing I'd love to see improved is to make doing custom internet streaming radio easier. It says it has the capability of this but I get maybe one out ten stations that I try to work on it. Would love to see something similar to the TuneIn Radio app that I have on my Android phone. Pandora is okay though and this isn't a deal breaker.

cltmhorn wrote:I'm considering a purchase. Couple of questions for folks who have it:

1) Reliability: Does the screen turn it self off or is it on all the time? If it doesn't turn itself off, does it move things around on the screen to avoid image burn in?
I don'

I don't have the Dash but LCD screens, especially modern ones, don't really suffer from burn-in since LCDs don't rely on chemical changes to display an image (CRTs excite phosphor while plasma screen heat gas, both causing chemical changes ). Instead, LCDs rely on the movement of crystal "shutters" suspended in liquid (hence the name Liquid Crystal Display). As such, the changes are almost never permanent. With chemical changes, if the chemicals in a pixel settles into a single state too long, i.e. the color blue,, it tends to lose the flexibility to change -- hence, burn in. With an LCD, a prolonged static image can result in a persistent ghostly imprint but this can usually be fixed by exposing the area continuously to a rapidly changing image for some duration of time. It's similar to flexing atrophied muscles. If your arm was in a cast, it'll want to stay in that same position even after the cast is removed. Some prolonged flexing, however the arm should regain the flexibility of an healthy arm.

That said, there are examples of seemingly permanent LCD burn-in although I don't see how it can happen. Here is a McDonald's LCD screen which has "CNN" permanently burned on the bottom right. Still, I wonder if several days of rapidly changing images can fix it.

No. That would be Sonny Dash.

SputnikHQ wrote:I've got a friend that has Mrs. Dash in her kitchen and swears by it. Is this a more masculine version or what?
Vegas

I hope you are being sarcastic.... Mrs. Dash is a seasoning/spice for cooking.

Does the fox come included? I feel like if it did, I would be interested.

nitebrain wrote:This product is horribly designed. For those that are tempted, trust me you will hate this thing. I got this from woot and it sits in a freakin drawer now. I gave it many chances.

A) It is not ergnomic. Hard to hold and pickup next to a bed.

B) The User Interface (UI) is horribly designed. It does not follow the conventions of most modern UI designs that have evolved. They just made up their own ides.

C) It has no battery backup. If you unplug it or move it, it takes light years to get back up again.

D) It constantly phones home, sending "who knows what" data about you, your usage, your songs and your pictures. Who knows. It is totally unecessary.

E) Requires too much thought to setup the alarms when you are tired. If you always get up at the same time, then maybe it is okay, but just too many buttons.

F) It is too sensitive when it should not be. You pick it up and are tryuing to hold it and you accidently, ans easily can inadvertantly press an option. Again, horrible design.

GOOD THINGS:
Pleasant alarm sounds. Bright display. Rubber texture. That's about it. It is just horribly designed. Amazing since Sony made the excellent Magic Link PIC 2000 device. How could they forget all that great engineering?

You say if you move it or unplug it, it takes "light years" to get back up again. I fear you misunderstand the term LIGHT YEAR. It's a measure of DISTANCE not TIME. A light year is the distance light travels in a year's time. Just trying to help.

ChrisMitch wrote:The one thing I'd love to see improved is to make doing custom internet streaming radio easier. It says it has the capability of this but I get maybe one out ten stations that I try to work on it. Would love to see something similar to the TuneIn Radio app that I have on my Android phone. Pandora is okay though and this isn't a deal breaker.

Are you saying that when you try to add the URL of an internet radio stream, it balks at playing it? Are you using the feature someone else referred to as the "Internet Radio Streamer?" And if that is the case, I am curious if you found a pattern in which types of streams it does/doesn't support?

One design idea I wish had been incorporated into the Dash (I like mine a lot)... to be able to set the thing on its side so one could watch movies on Netflix while reclining on their side in bed. The outside frame of the Dash is slanted so it can't be turned on its side without falling over.

save your money ...get a Motorola Xoom !!!the ipad KILLER!!!

cindytockey wrote:what if I buy this and decide that it is a piece of crap and dont want it, can I send it back for a refund? P.S. thinking of buying for my teenagers for christmas. Intentions are to limit their internet access.

I dunno ... when mine were teens, I don't think they would have allowed themselves to limited by a device like this. Won't they find something that allows more exploration, like a cheapo no-name Chinese tablet or a used desktop or something?

-- Ed

Its junk dont buy it
- The screen layout options are all very awkward, making it hard to use as a clock, web browser, or a widget keeper
- It needs to be plugged in all the time! That's right, no battery of any sort.
- The web browser is REALLY bad
- Most of the widgets available are useless. The one saving grace is Pandora, but would you really use this to listen to music?
- It is VERY slow to respond to everything

ironious wrote:Its junk dont buy it
...
- The web browser is REALLY bad

I didn't think this *had* a web browser. How could its web browser "be bad," if it doesn't have a web browser?

whatzupjohn wrote:does it access amazon streaming?

Yes. Other options are: Hulu Plus, Netflix, YouTube, blip.tv, Crackle, Dailymotion, and others such as "Michael Jackson, His music will live forever"

STAY AWAY! I bought this last time it was offered a few weeks ago. It is JUNK! Cannot be customized. No easy access to audio. The idea that this can be used as a clock radio is a joke. Sony tech support was useless - not because they weren't nice, but because there was nothing they could do for me.

Does anyone know if this device can stream local music and video over wifi?

nolanator19 wrote:Does anyone know if this device can stream local music and video over wifi?

By "local," do you mean that in a networking sense (to music & video files you've got stored on your own local area network)? Or do you mean it more geographically, as in local radio programming, & local cable video podcasts?

I picked this up the last time 'round on woot. It makes a great Netflix and Pandora appliance for the kitchen or wherever. No, it is not "hackable", but I have an Insignia Infocast for that (basically an overgrown Chumby). And While it doesn't support all of the Chumby apps...really a lot of them are junk anyway, so you aren't missing out on much. The screen is very good, the speakers are fair. Netflix runs very well, and I like it better than the Infocast. Makes a darn good alarm clock and info center too.

whitefang6 wrote:STAY AWAY! I bought this last time it was offered a few weeks ago. It is JUNK! Cannot be customized. No easy access to audio. The idea that this can be used as a clock radio is a joke. Sony tech support was useless - not because they weren't nice, but because there was nothing they could do for me.

Whitefang6...sorry, but I don't get what your problem is! I got the Dash in the last sale too (mid July). Customization is ample..can change the "home screen" to several different configurations. Lots of apps. Can change how long they play. Arrange them they way you want. Unlimited channels. The audio is fine with the streaming services it does. The clock radio works perfectly. I am not a super-tech person. Just a 61 yr. old woman and if I could figure it out, I'm surprised you couldn't! I do recommend the Dash. BUT...IT IS NOT A TABLET!!!! It's just really good as a table top alarm clock with internet streaming perks.

I bought one last time around and I like the features, but what I don't like is it's reception to a signal. It's in our bedroom on the top floor with the router in the basement. While the portable upstairs gives over 90% reception to the router, the Sony Dash gives 6% and sometimes gives out. If I bring it right next to the portable, it goes up in the 90s, but 20 feet further down a hall, it drops to 6%.

djdorn wrote:I bought one last time around and I like the features, but what I don't like is it's reception to a signal. It's in our bedroom on the top floor with the router in the basement. While the portable upstairs gives over 90% reception to the router, the Sony Dash gives 6% and sometimes gives out. If I bring it right next to the portable, it goes up in the 90s, but 20 feet further down a hall, it drops to 6%.

djdorn: Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your WiFi signal. I have 2 Dashes, and one is in our bedroom which is notorious for not having good WiFi reception. Dash works fine. A friend of mine who lives on a farm and has a very weak WiFi is also able to use hers in her kitchen (she worried it wouldn't work, her reception is so bad). She's pleased. Tough break for you. Maybe you can figure out what the problem is. Maybe a metal wall or something? Some kind of interference?

dibydoo wrote:Music Playback Formats AAC, MP3, WMA
Video Formats MPEG4, WMV, H.264

Still not sure about connecting a 1Tb hard drive.

Anyone verify this for me?

Not sure about 1TB, but a 500 gb Western Digital portable drive works. When browsing for music files, it also shows pictures files, so you have to weed through those to get to the music files. I only put one song on to test so I don't have a lot of experience with that, but now you have given me some ideas...

njkatz wrote:Light years, actually a measure of distance, not time. and it really only takes about a minute to reset itself.
I can understand that you may not find it useful, but it's really not horrible. It does what it does, which is a fair amount for an alarm clock.

Its actually a measure of both. It takes at least 5 minutes to reboot. Just got it out and timed it twice so others will know the truth. Maybe yours uses a different firmware, or your router is closer. Who cares. The point is, this product just sucks hard core. The user interface is absolutely crap. One giant technical misstep for mankind. Alarm clocks ar $5 at Walgreens. They should pay you to use this thing, it is that bad.

This device is just an electricity waster with spyware built-in.

CooperDude wrote:You say if you move it or unplug it, it takes "light years" to get back up again. I fear you misunderstand the term LIGHT YEAR. It's a measure of DISTANCE not TIME. A light year is the distance light travels in a year's time. Just trying to help.

Who do you think you are, Einstein? I know what it means. My use is tech slang. And the term lightyear can be used as a measure of both. It is the distance light travels in a year, and it is also how long it takes light to travel 9,460,730,472,580.8 km.

So stop trying to sound so intelligent. People say things like, "This product is lightyears ahead of the competition." That reflects how far (in time) they are ahead of other products.

And did you really contribute much with your post? I think my post is lightyears ahead of your post. :-)

whitefang6 wrote:STAY AWAY! I bought this last time it was offered a few weeks ago. It is JUNK! Cannot be customized. No easy access to audio. The idea that this can be used as a clock radio is a joke. Sony tech support was useless - not because they weren't nice, but because there was nothing they could do for me.

Exactly. This is the truth. This product sucks so bad. The people that like it must think like the wacked out interface designer that made this piece of tech junk. It is very hard to use. Devices should be simple, not complex. I develop software, so I know that is not easy to make things simple, but it is essential.