Love the Chumby, too bad it’s not in Canada
In case you missed it, I recently wrote an article for Sympatico MSN about great tech we can’t get in Canada. And you can add the Chumby Internet media player to that list, too.
In case you missed it, I recently wrote an article for Sympatico MSN about great tech we can’t get in Canada. And you can add the Chumby Internet media player to that list, too.
Never heard of the Chumby ($180 incl. shipping)? That’s because it’s not yet available in the Great White North. But it works here, as our family has used it for the past couple of months.
Using your existing Wi-Fi network, the Chumby is small tabletop touch-screen device that displays Internet content of your choosing. Select from more than 1000 "widgets," including TV shows, weather, email, news, photos, sports scores and stock quotes.
Set up was as easy as registering on the Chumby.com website, choosing the desired content from 30 categories and then using a fingertip on the Chumby’s 3.5-inch screen to find the wireless network. We kept the leather-clad Chumby on the kitchen counter (nearby power outlet required), an ideal place to read Food Network recipes, listen to streaming radio stations or play a round of Sudoku.
Navigating through all the content was a smooth process, though sometimes we had to press the same button on the screen twice for it to register. We also liked an unadvertised feature: two USB ports on the back of the Chumby let you connect an iPod or USB thumbdrive full of music or audiobooks; use your finger to select the desired track and you’ll immediately hear it through its loud speakers.
It’s too bad we can’t get this gadget in Canada (the company says it doesn’t know if or when it will be available here) but the wide selection of widgets, cute form factor and no monthly fee all proves the Chumby is more than a mere gimmick. If you find yourself south of the border, pick one up.
Filed Under: Web/Tech
what is the point of reviewing a product…if it can't be bought?
would it be to encourage consumers to spend their money in another country?
brilliant!! does anyone else here see the stupidity of this, considering our current economic crisis?
OR would it be to convince us canadians that somehow we are hard done by. that somehow, it would be better to further let down the trade barriers. then we all could have all the wonderful things they have! yippee, everything is grreaat down there!!
as if the entire world isn't already enjoying the economic gift from our neighbours down south!
…just wondering why every third byline concerning product reviews includes the product not being available in canada…
preliminary foreplay for the coming amero? hmmm, maybe?
(Report comment)
observer… you are an idiot. The vast majority of electronics are first reviewed in Japan, most of which never arrive in NA. That doesn't mean we shouldn't see what is out there.
(Report comment)
I can see the stupidity in observer's comments. Pretty funny too though. It takes a very odd duck to paint these reviews as some kind of American economic conspiracy HAHA! An old saying definitely applies here " best to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt"
(Report comment)
I have no problem with this article, but with the article it links to, which reviews the Nintendo DSi… according to all sources I've seen other than this blog, the DSi does NOT have a GBA slot, which that article reports that it does.
(Report comment)
Basically if you want something better then a Chumby get an Apple Ipod Touch, it also has the same apps or widgets and thousands and thousands more. Its even smaller and likely better on batteries and storage. Plus with OS X snow leopard coming out, it might be able to do much more. Price is also very comparable.
A chumby looks like a dinosaur compared to an Ipod touch.
Chumps
(Report comment)
I lol'd when i saw observers comments….and in regards to the comments of the iPod touch…NO. If you wanted something comparable to that you would look at an archos
(Report comment)
Not if your comparing price point.
$179 for a chumby with next to no widgets or apps
$259 for an 8 GB Ipod touch in Canada piles and piles of apps easy to install
$179 for an 4 GB archos with a wimpy battery
with an ipod you also get a pretty serious gaming machine. Throw on Fring and make voice calls all over the world with Skype. Run a spreadsheet, a word processing program, send emails and text chats, browse the web, play games, do your accounting, check the weather, head to facebook
Well check out just a small part of the apps here;
http://www.148apps.com/
With a linux or google box you will be fighting with drivers and having to download source code to tweak things. With an Apple ipod it just works, now some things are restricted in the itunes store, but generally with time better easier apps have come out making jailbreaking or using the archos or others pretty much pointless.
If you want something that will hold its value, get the touch.
hmm I wonder how well a Chumby or Archos stands up under water? LOL
My apple Ipod has gone everywhere. Heck they have been making music players for years, they know how to build them. With an ipod there are lots of accessories everywhere, even car manufacturers with a Gumby or Arches you get pretty much a device no one else has ever heard of. LOL
(Report comment)
London Drugs sells a similar unit made by Grace; goes for 189 which seems a little pricey but if you want internet radion you are good to go. I prefer XM Radio.
(Report comment)
Hi – can anyone tell me why distribution of products differs in the world? For example, I was visiting Australia and amazed to see what their phones do there. I bought a mobile phone there, and brought it back to Canada for setup anticipating such service would be available shortly. The man at the mobile shop asked me where I got my phone and then said North American technology is 5 years behind Asia. Why is that? The same with television — in 1999 friends in Britain had digital TV and dtelephone via cable fully working while here in North America, we'd only heard the name.
Just curious – I don't profess to knowing anything about marketing and technology.
(Report comment)
The reason places like Asia and Austrailia have much better technology is because the I (the Tech fairy) fly over these blessed locations and sprinkle my tech dust all over them.
(Report comment)
@Dave Bisset, hey how have you managed to do voip on a Touch w/o a microphone?
(Report comment)
I can attest to VOIP on an iPhone working great, but with the new 2nd Gen iPod Touch, you can get a microphone for it. An expensive one from Apple, yes, but just give that a few months before third parties are manufacturing cheap headsets for significantly less.
(Report comment)
Bah.. buy a psp for that amount of money. Does everything this does and more.
(Report comment)
@Tech curious… We will always be behind in tech until we learn to manufacture things on our own. Currently, the big companies who mass produce things like this (and cell phones and ipods) ride a curve. Wait until new tech comes out, allow the market leaders (asia) to saturate with component parts and buy them cheap after they have been over produced. The longer a company waits, the more profits they make. Since North America is very profit driven it won't happen very often that we get cool stuff first. *pout*
(Report comment)
steve,
let's see, i would be an idiot because….steve didn't pay attention to what he was reading?
where did you even read (in my post) that we shouldn't be allowed to see these products?
you didn't, so perhaps i should clarify…
it was the "too bad it's not in Canada" comment (look in the title of the article) and the "if you find yourself south of the border, pick one up"comment (you can find this at the very end of the article)and other articles lately, such as grocery items from the states that we can't get, that i found odd.
and was, in fact, wondering if anyone else did too.
apparently stephen harper feels i should keep silent
(Report comment)
Hmmm Chumby for 180$…
Why not a dell mini-9 for 350?
I'm sure if you shop around you can get a laptop for under 300$, and it's an actual computer!
I really don't get what you would do with this!
Please!
(Report comment)