Jeremy's Notes » Chumby One

Chumby One: Now Available

Jeremy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:02:43 +0000

The Chumby One is now available for purchase from the Chumby Store. The improvements over the old “Chumby Classic” include:

$99.95 Price Tag -- That’s $100 less than the original Chumby!
FM Tuner -- Now the Chumby can trully replace all the functionality of your old alarm clock.
Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery -- This allows the Chumby to continue to function while the power is out. Hopefully your battery doesn’t explode ;D
Volume Knob -- Again, it can replace your alarm clock. All it needs now is a sleep button and it’s complete.
Faster Processor -- 454 MHz from 350 MHz
2GB internal microSD card -- A great improvement from the previous 64 MB flash ROM. (Let the modder’s rejoice!)

The downside of the new Chumby One:

1 USB 2.0 port -- The Classic has 2
ABS Plastic Shell -- The new Chumby is not as friendly as it’s predecessor. It lacks the charm that made the old one a nice addition to any desk. You can no longer customize the new one to match your desk and workstation.

While the new Chumby One does have a very reasonable price and offers a few improvements, I do not see myself ever purchasing one. With that being said, it would still be a great Christmas gift for someone you know. (Just make sure they have wireless network to connect it with!)

If your interested in seeing more of the Chumby One, check out this video review by Chris Pirillo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRfe6sFeras

Comments are welcome!

Sources:
Chumby Comparison -- Link
Chumby One Review by Chris Pirillo -- Link

Chumby One is up for pre-order

Jeremy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:58:26 +0000

The new Chumby One is now available for preorder via the Chumby Store. If you order it now you will get around a $20 discount.

Get it @ The Chumby Store

Chumby One: Initial Thoughts

Jeremy — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:32:36 +0000

I am disappointed about the direction that Chumby Industries is taking their new product. The Chumby One is no longer plushy, which to me, gave the Chumby Classic a very stylistic appeal. I don’t understand why the company doesn’t just improve the hardware specs of the classic Chumby and keep the same form factor. I feel that it looses it’s uniqueness with the new body. Here’s a quote from Matt Burns @ CrunchGear.com that describes exactly how I feel:

The original Chumby was soft, cuddly, and cute. The new Chumby One is uptight, all-business, and commercial. I hate it.
-CrunchGear.com “The Chumby One: More powerful, less cushy UPDATE“

It will be interesting to see how the final product will look. You can expect it to be in online stores sometime before the holidays.