T’was May 15, 2003. Exactly a year (and a day, its kinda fuzzy) before Josh Findley and the GIMPS collaborative effort discovered the largest known prime number (224036583 − 1, if you must know).
May 15, 2003 was when the world saw the release of the Ambient Orb. A “device” that resembled the Pet Rock, but did a lot more. A lot, lot more. Using the Ambient Information Network, a nationwide wireless network powered by Weblink Wireless (circa 2003, at least – it may have changed hands by now), the Ambient Orb is / was one of the most interesting pieces of contemporary-yet-functional items of techno-chic decor for the home / office ambience.
So, what did it exactly do, you wonder? Well, it glowed. Nay, it changed the colors of its glow based on the changes in whatever it was that you were interested in. Perhaps it would go blue if your stock portfolio was feeling ditto. Perhaps a tinge of yellow would start spreading if the winds were bringing down a lot of pollen and you had indicated interest in hayfever symptoms. You get the drift, right? All it needed was regular power and the Ambient Information Network (which, by the way, has surprisingly good coverage for something that doesn’t get too much lip service).
At $150-ish, the Ambient Orb was a tad steep, but certainly worked to add color (pun intended) to the normally stodgy workplace and/or overdone aluminum-and-glass accents of the average contemporary home. T’was the veritable crossover between geek toy and designer decor curios. Good for ‘em. Not so good for anyone with color blindness.
Four years later, we have the Chumby. Equally cute-sy name, but with a tad more levels of interesting-ness (to quote the friendly folks at flickr) with regards to its take on the marriage between form and function. It uses one of the fastest-growing commodities of the era we live in; i.e. the ever-so-ubiquitous LCD screen in a 3.5″ avatar that should work even for the most “my computer screen made me myopic” amongst us. It boasts a couple of USB ports to accommodate flash drives with music, etc; and it needs one of the other ever-so-ubiquitous commodities of our era. A wireless network.
While I dig the overall concept of the Ambient Orb, the Chumby appeals to more even more. Here’s why:
- Instant nightstand item candidate. Its small enough, and well-protected enough, to withstand the snooze slap in the mornings and/or the accidental drop from the nightstand when one fumbles for the light switch.
- Its got both an accelerometer and a “squeeze sensor”. Meaning, it’ll know when its dropping and when its being slapped / squeezed. T’was nice of the product designers to think of this.
- Access to the Chumby wireless network is free (after ownership of a Chumby device), much like the Ambient Orb. However, one can add functionality to the Chumby via “widgets” (software applets that work on the Chumby and display their results on-screen). These widgets / channels are available for free. Most of ‘em.
- And most important of ‘em all – I don’t have to remember what I set the color purple for, or what a tinge of blue means. LCD screens are so much better.
There’s more, but lets just put those top three together into one nice ball:
- A “fall-proof”, nightstand clock that…
- ..can display the weather and…
- ..pictures from your flickr photo stream, and…
- ..uses regular AC power and your existing home wireless network
That right there, is a great Christmas gift for those of us who don’t care for switching on the computer too much. Its also a great way to socialize the concept of the smart appliance and/or ambient computing so that the grandpa generation doesn’t get too surprised when their new refrigerator has a panel on the outside that says “You’re running low on milk. Order now?”
However (and there’s always a “however”, isn’t there?), its price point isn’t any better. At almost $180 (perhaps almost $200 after shipping?), it would make the second thought kick in. And that’s never good for business. Nonetheless, the Chumby user community is growing.
If you must order, hurry. The Chumby store promises delivery in time for Santa only if your order’s in before this Friday.
Oh, and in case you were wondering…I like the black one.
[...] Did you hear about Chumby? The new cute name on the web, that can display your flickr photos, eBay auctions, play iPod, ring an alarm and still work if it falls of your night stand? No? Then go read what Sujeet has to say about Chumby! He talks about Ambient Orb and Chumby, and how Chumby can be a great Christmas Gift (yeah, that had to come right?) [...]