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Chumby Will Be Chummier With Improvements

Posted on: Monday, 28 April 2008, 15:00 CDT

A computer can be overkill for Internet use. Sometimes, you just want a simple device with only your favorite online content in bite-sized morsels.

You want a Chumby.

Or do you?

I wanted to love this cute li'l Internet appliance, I really did. The Chumby is a stripped-down computer with a touch screen, speakers and Wi-Fi all built into a small beanbag enclosure of Italian leather.

I love the core idea -- you load up the Chumby with software "widgets" that feed your favorite bits of information -- weather forecasts, news headlines or the latest from your social networks like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr. You get webcam views, online radio stations, New York Times podcasts, YouTube and other multimedia. And you can get widgets for the wacky stuff, too -- Sushi of the Day, Chuck Norris Facts or Ask the Magic Chumball.

Once you have selected and customized your Chumby content, sit back and take it in. You can use the Chumby bedside as a personalized alarm clock or next to the couch as an updating source of amusement and enlightenment or even next to you computer screen as an auxiliary information display.

You get interactivity, too, courtesy of that touch screen. You can tap to open your Gmail messages, swipe to scroll through Facebook photos, and so on. Tap a bit more to pick streaming-music stations, CBS Evening News video clips or home movies stored on the popular Animoto site.

I had the most fun monitoring Facebook, and keeping track of my Twitter pals using one of three Twitter widgets.

But the Chumby can be one maddening little contraption. Dozens of available widgets, which you select on your PC at chumby.com and then transfer over the Internet to your Chumby via Wi-Fi, won't always behave as you'd expect.

I wanted to lob my loaner Chumby against a wall when I was unable to scroll down a list of Gmail messages or get the device to pull up my Flickr pictures, my Google Calendar schedule or my messages in other e-mail accounts. And remember those three Twitter widgets? I couldn't get two of those to work, either. The one that did work offered no option to interact with my Twitter pals, only to passively read their tweets.

That touch screen is often unresponsive and difficult to use, even with widgets that are specifically designed for it. You're advised to use a nail or the tip of your finger for best results, but I'd sometimes poke at the screen to no avail.

With so much pain involved in getting the Chumby to do what you want, I can't see giving one to Grandma just yet. Internet addicts, the other key market for this device, may be more tolerant of its quirks. But, really, is it a good idea to spend $180 for so crippled an Internet device?

Another drawback: the Chumby must be plugged into a wall outlet at all times, so forget about using it as a cuddly companion that goes where you go, such as to a coffeeshop. Even moving it around the house is a hassle since you have to mess with that pesky wall charger.

With this limitation in mind, I wonder why potential Chumby buyers don't just stick to handheld Web devices. These include smart phones as well as Wi-Ficapable gizmos, like Apple's Internet Touch, with better interactivity as well as mobility (courtesy of built-in batteries).

I did like being able to connect iPods to the Chumby via one of its two USB ports, and using it as a stereo courtesy of its two minispeakers and its iPod-control screen. But the audio quality isn't great, partly because the Chumby's speakers face (egad) backward.

I shouldn't be too hard on the Chumby, though, since the device is a work in progress with many improvements yet to come. These include:

--More and better widgets. Chumby's creators are at the mercy of third-party software developers to create content, but this is easy to pull off since the mini-applications are written with a version of Adobe's ubiquitous Flash software.

In other words, those often-infuriating widgets should get better over time as developers get the hang of Chumby-based coding. (Tip: Make the buttons BIG!) The variety of widgets already available is impressive.

--More hardware features. Chumby's creators hint at exciting stuff yet to come, courtesy of hardware features that are still mostly dormant.

The device has a microphone on the front, for instance. The mike doesn't do anything, but will eventually, Chumby Industries co-founder Steve Tomlin promises.

The Chumby also incorporates a motion sensor or "accelerometer" (similar to one found on the iPod Touch and the iPhone). This is now put to modest use with a game called Chumball, which lets you roll a virtual ball along a twisting path by tilting the Chumby this way and that. More motion-sensing widgets are on the way.

Those USB ports will come in handy in new ways, too, if clever developers find uses for keyboards or plug-in webcams, Tomlin adds.

--Beyond the Chumby. A physical Chumby will be only one way to show content on the so-called Chumby Network, which Tomlin says will expand to Internet-enabled digital-photo frames, TVs, computer displays and other Internet-connected devices (including, possibly, Chumby siblings).

This requires Chumby Industries to broker deals with other hardware makers, but it had none to announce as this column went to press. Stay tuned, Tomlin says.

--Hacking the Chumby. For those with technical skills, the Chumby is a potential godsend because it is easy to modify. It uses the highly customizable Linux operating system that (along with the popular Flash) makes the device a playground for hardware and software hackers.

Such people are already having at the Chumby, removing it from its leather bag and incorporating its electronics into alternate enclosures such as teddy bears, footballs and fine wood cases. Get details here: xrl.us/chumbyhacks.

Tomlin says he's just fine with all of this, but does note such extreme modifications void the device's warranty.

Source: Saint Paul Pioneer Press

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