Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 01 December 2008 11:53
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
The Wi-Fi “digital virtual anything viewer” that is the Chumby has come
to Australia courtesy of local ISP Internode, and to boost the amount
of Australian content available, Internode is launching a month-long
contest with a $2000 prize pack to be won. You don’t even need to own a
Chumby to enter!
“Chumby” (or chumby in lower case as named by
its creators) is a cute and soft device that sports a 3.5-inch colour
touchscreen, through which you can view, experience, watch and listen
to thousands of “apps”, all delivered via Wi-Fi.
These apps are called “Widgets”, and they let you watch YouTube videos,
see sports scores, listen to radio stations, get weather updates and
plenty more.
Most of the content for the chumby comes from the US, and while some
Australian widgets already exist, Internode wants to encourage the
development of plenty more.
iTWire first covered Internode’s launch of the chumby
last month,
and noted that while it’s wireless, meaning you can put them anywhere –
the kitchen, lounge, backyard, beside table, your office desk or
wherever you want.
They just need to be plugged into mains power (as the current chumby
lacks any kind of rechargeable batteries), must be in range of your
Wi-Fi network, and must be in your possession, which means outlaying
$299 to get your very own.
Internode Content Administrator Richard Burke said developing chumby
widgets was quite straightforward. “If you understand the basics of
Flash, it's worth giving it a go.
“You don't even need to own a chumby to create widgets or enter this
competition. You can create a virtual chumby at chumby.com and then
you’re in with a chance to win your own chumby prize pack,” Burke
added.
Internode have already created some Australian based widgets to get the imagination flowing, with existing widgets including:
* An Australian BBQ Game
* Bureau of Meteorology weather updates
* Video content from Australian news media
* Traffic webcams in major cities
* Australian podcast archives
So, how can you enter the competition, when does it close, what’s in
the $2000 prize pack, and what’s in the consolation prize (beyond a
free chumby?)
Please read on to page 2.
