A leaner, faster and cheaper Chumby

Donald Bell | Nov 13, 2009

The US$99 Chumby One ditches the plush look of the previous model and gets a performance boost. (Credit: Chumby Industries)

The Chumby One (which is technically Chumby No. 2) officially made its way into the manufacturer's online storefront Wednesday, priced at a tantalizing US$99.

For those who didn't catch the Chumby phenomenon the first time around, the gist of the thing is a do-it-all, hardware host for Internet widgets. You can use it to check the weather, update your Facebook status, browse your photos on Flickr, tune in to Internet radio, play games, and more. The original Chumby was a blast (I still use one at home for listening to Pandora), but it was a bit of a rich-kid novelty at US$179.

The 3.5-inch display is touchscreen-enabled. (Credit: Chumby Industries)

Chumby One represents a leaner, faster, cheaper take on the original. Aside from ditching the plush Italian leather and beanbag shape of the original for the clean lines of ABS plastic, the new Chumby benefits from a faster processor (454MHz), a built-in FM radio, a dedicated volume knob, 2GB of microSD memory, and a single USB 2.0 port. They've now made it portable, too, with an optional rechargeable lithium-ion battery good for an hour of use.

The Chumby is now portable with its optional lithium-ion battery. (Credit: Chumby Industries)

Many features haven't changed, which is surprising when you consider the big price drop. You still get a relatively spacious 3.5-inch resistive LCD touchscreen, a 3.5mm stereo output, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, accelerometer control, and an AC adapter. Let's hope you can still play Quake on it.

Also, is anybody else thinking this thing is just a camera away from working as a Skype video phone? Come on developers, there's a built-in microphone, a USB 2.0 port, a reasonably fast processor--make it happen, OK?

Via CNET Crave

Filed under: Gadgets, Web
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