Chumby Industries Begins Its World Tour
by Kristin Shoemaker - Dec. 15, 2008Comments (2)- Related Blog Posts
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Earlier this year I wrote about the Chumby internet appliance/open source alarm clock. Though Chumbys have been available in the US for a little over a year now, Chumby Industries hasn't been able to officially sell these products internationally.
Chumby Industries intended all along to open sales outside the US, but electronics standards (and approval procedures) vary from country to country, and it's been time consuming. Some international users turned to friends in the States or third party shippers, but now, at least in a few countries, this is no longer necessary. Chumby is available at select retailers in Japan, and a Japanese language Chumby portal was launched last month.
Chumby Industries' Steve Tomlin says it's been a slow process, but Chumby will be available in other countries as soon as humanly possible.
Chumbys sold in Japan (and those now surreptitiously available in Australia) have access to the same widget database as the US Chumbys, and location and language specific widget categories have been added to give Chumby a more "local" feel for its new users.
Chumby is functional right out of the box, but there's the added, open source appeal. Chumby is completely open -- both in terms of hardware and software. Hardware schematics, widget development details, craft ideas (the "plain" Chumby looks rather -- well, plain and potato-like), and even Chumby specific Linux hacking tips are available on the Chumby site.
