Getting chummy with Chumby requires a bit of patience

— -- Remember when a clock radio was just a clock radio? The prototypical alarm clock of the cyberage may well turn out to be Chumby, the cuddly and versatile new gadget I've been testing. This compact Wi-Fi-connected touch-screen Internet "appliance" does a lot more than wake you up.

Chumby can broadcast Internet radio stations, deliver Facebook, MySpace and Twitter status reports, and serve as a digital picture frame for the likes of Flickr and Picasa. You can watch certain YouTube videos and clips of David Letterman's Top 10 lists. Or play games by tilting it from side to side — Chumby has a built-in accelerometer, or motion sensor. Chumby even moonlights as a speaker dock for some iPods.

Though my first impression is mostly positive, Chumby has the nagging earmarks of a version 1.0 device. The touch-screen could be more responsive. I encountered all-too-frequent networking snags.

It's unfortunate because there are several reasons to get chummy with Chumby, from tracking eBay auctions and stock prices to glancing at ball scores and Craig's List classifieds. And while Chumby's stereo speakers aren't the richest you'll hear, they function well enough given their modest place in your household — on a nightstand or kitchen counter.

Chumby went on sale on the Web this week courtesy of the San Diego start-up of the same name. The $180 unit is the initial delivery platform for the Chumby Network. There are no recurring fees, but there are ads; some appear in between selected widgets. A premium subscription model has not been ruled out.

At www.chumby.com, you choose which among the more than 400 customizable single-purpose Web applications, or "widgets," you want to show up in a loop on the 3½-inch color display. Developers can submit their own widgets, subject to Chumby's approval.

Chumby's content partners include CBS, MTV Networks, The Weather Channel, Scripps Networks (such as Food Network) and AOL's Shoutcast (online radio stations). So-called Radio Free Chumby adds more Internet stations. Podcasts are also available. Users can stream their own favorite stations, but URLs can be hard to find and entering them is cumbersome. A closer look at Chumby: