(Click for larger view of a mockup of the Samsung/Chumby DPF reference design )
Chumby
(Click for details)Chumby did not provide technical details on the new DPF design, except to say it offers a touchscreen, and accepts input from camera cards and memory cards. (Chumby also hinted that the device offers WiFi connectivity.) A Chumby spokesperson also revealed that the device will be offered in a number of different display sizes. It was unclear whether Samsung would manufacture and/or sell a final product based on the design, or whether Chumby would sell a branded version itself.
The design uses the Linux-based software stack first used in Chumby's digital alarm clock. The stack can deliver ads and services from Chumby's network of third-party content providers, Chumby says.
Chumby's original Chumby device began shipping last February for $180. The alarm-clock sized Chumby boasts hackable, open-source Linux software, and even hackable hardware and "outerware." Based on an undisclosed 350MHz ARM processor with 64MB of SDRAM and 64MB of NAND flash, the device is equipped with a 3.5-inch touchscreen with 320x240 resolution.
The DPF reference design will provide access to Chumby services and content, including over 1,000 Internet widget applications and tens of thousands of Internet radio stations, says Chumby. Specific features for the DPF device are said to include drag-and-drop photo and video sharing, social networking, multimedia messaging, games, Internet radio, animation, video clips, and streaming news, weather information, and RSS feeds. Users can connect to Photobucket, Facebook, and Flickr photo-sharing services, plus integrate photo sharing with audio, says the company.
The existing Chumby device displays a continuous stream of rotating personalized "push content" channels from the Chumby Network. The network is subscription-free, but is subsidized by advertising. Content providers are said to include CBS, MTV Networks, MySpace, The Weather Channel Interactive, AOL's SHOUTcast, and Scripps Networks.
Announced last February, the S3C6410 (block diagram pictured below) is equipped with an ARM1176 core along with what Samsung refers to as "advanced hardware blocks for multimedia processing." A hardwired Multi-Format Codec (MFC) unit allows the S3C6410 to perform video capturing in MPEG4/H.263/H.264 formats, and play back video in MPEG4/H.263/H.264/VC1 formats, while still delivering long battery life, Samsung says.
S3C6410 block diagram
(Click to enlarge)
In an April an interview with LinuxDevices, in conjunction with a Chumby announcement of new accelerometer-based games for the device, Stephen Tomlin, Chumby's CEO, hinted that an announcement with a DPF company may be in the works. At the time, he also talked up Chumby's new Linux developers' site, which offers forum entries, schematics, and other materials for developing Chumby hardware add-ons, software, and widgets.
Stated Richard Yeh, marketing director for Samsung Semiconductor's System LSI Business, "By partnering with emerging market leaders such as Chumby, we have an opportunity to dynamically change the way people view and share information in real-time via the Internet."
Stated Chumby's Tomlin, "Digital photo frames are an ideal platform for delivering chumby technology and content to millions of homes."
Availability
Samsung and Chumby will demonstrate the DPF reference design at CES this week at Samsung's #N238 meeting room on the second floor of North Hall, and also at Chumby's booth #14448 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. No details were provided for final availability.
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