Sony’s Dream Machine clock radios have been bedside fixtures. Now, Sony has come out with an alarm clock that befits the cyberage. It’s the touch-screen Sony Dash that I’ve been testing, and it’ll wake you up with a music video or Internet radio.
To typecast Dash as an alarm clock is to sell it short. Dash also functions as a digital photo frame for Facebook or Photobucket pictures. It serves up Martha Stewart recipes and Facebook and Twitter status updates. You can browse The New York Times or Engadget headlines or watch YouTube — even take in a full-length flick from Amazon’s video on demand or Netflix. Wi-Fi is built right in.
Sony is marketing the $200 Dash as a “Personal Internet Viewer,” equally at home on your desk, kitchen countertop or nightstand. It’s potentially useful for “video snacking,” or for glancing at weather, traffic alerts or stock quotes.
In the era of smartphones, tablets and netbooks, Dash is none of those things. Helping you understand where Dash fits in — and what contraptions it may stand in for in your house — is Sony’s big challenge. And the Dash name is unfortunate, because the contraption is slow, immobile and ultimately unsatisfying. Here’s a closer look.
*Ties to Chumby. If the idea behind Dash seems vaguely familiar, you’re probably thinking of a similar device called Chumby from Chumby Industries in San Diego. Sony has teamed with its Southern California neighbor to produce more than 1,000 free Chumby apps for Dash, everything from an e-mail viewer to a lava lamp.
Think of the first Chumby as the cute, cuddly little kid. Dash comes off as the more dashing and mature older sibling. Dressed in black with easy-to-grip rubber trim, Dash costs $50 to $80 more than the two Chumby models. But it has a 7-inch screen…