Chumby One: Hard to Explain, Easy to Love

Dec. 7, 2009— -- The Chumby One is a turbo-charged mini-alarm clock/picture frame/Internet device with Wi-Fi and hours of fun packed inside for a modest price of $119.95.

It's cute, powerful -- and really difficult to explain in a sentence or two. But it will be an appreciated gift for anyone who loves news, weather and social media updates throughout the day.

Chumby One looks like a miniature old-school TV with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a "Take Me to the Home Screen" snooze button on top and a volume knob on the side.

It uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet and works independently of any computer you may have in your home.

Chumby allows you to stream Internet radio and FM radio, but the touchscreen really comes alive when you add customized widgets to display whatever content you choose.

Available widgets seem to be endless (1,500 and counting) and include video games, weather channels, gossip news tickers, sports scores, customized clocks, stock trackers and screens that let you keep your Flickr, Facebook and Twitter feeds constantly updated. There are feeds from webcams, animated screensavers, and pages of jokes.

It only comes in white, but would serve you well in your kitchen, bedroom, dorm room or office desk.

You can activate the device easily once it's connected to a Wi-Fi network, but you will need a computer to add and configure widgets. They do not need to be connected to the same network or each other.

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Chumby One you may have trouble explaining what it does, but you will not want to give it back.

Chumby Ones are available for $119.95 at Chumby's online store. The original Chumby, with a larger screen and a housing covered in leather, sells for $119.95.