It’s been more than three months since I first reviewed the Chumby and concluded with the “gotta get one” recommendation. After some time has passed and the Chumby buzz has died down; I want to make a post-review after I’ve been able to spend more time with it.

A quick description of the Chumby (for those who’ve yet to learn what it is). Think of the Chumby as a totally hackable, Linux-based, toyish, widget player that doesn’t need to be connected to the computer. It’s also finally on sale to the public for $179.95.

Over the past three months I’ve been using my Chumby multiple times per day, but not for what you’d expect. It has become my $180 alarm clock and it’s the best alarm clock I’ve ever had. The Chumby’s alarm clock features are amazing; there’s the ability to set different times for different days and a catalog of sounds and music you can choose from (and ultimately scare the crap out of you in the morning). A couple of friends questioned me about navigating during the early morning hours and it’s surprisingly simple once you’ve acquainted yourself with the Chumby interface.

There has been one major update since I purchased the Chumby and it has made the device a little more worth it. The overall speed of the Chumby has been increased, but nothing like the iPhone. Freezing and crashing problems on the Chumby have also been fixed.

The newest feature in the update, is ability to play free audio content from Internet radio services like SHOUTcast and MediaFly. SHOUTcast is a music stream and MediaFly is a podcast stream. I listen to most of my podcast late at night and now I can listen without the worry of my iPod headphones choking me the next morning.

There is more support for the Chumby than there was three months ago. More developers are using the Chumby’s power to create some pretty interesting widgets, Chumball (a game that uses the gyroscope) being one of them.

I’m still enjoying the Chumby, but I’m yet to justify the $180 purchase. If it were eighty bucks less I would be telling everyone to get one. I’m still hoping the Chumby team introduces some more features and maybe takes advantage of it’s two USB ports on the back?

Top picture by -eko-