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Get ready for the Chumby craze

The cutesy little Wi-Fi enabled Chumby alarm,err, 'thing' - pictured here - launched to muchfanfare in the US this week, at a cost of $180 (£90). No releasedate or pricing have yet been announced for the UK.

"Theprototypical alarm clock of the cyberage may well turn out to beChumby, the cuddly and versatile new gadget I've been testing. Thiscompact Wi-Fi-connected touch-screen internet "appliance" does a lotmore than wake you up," read an excited review in USA Today.

Chumby certainly sounds pretty nifty. It can broadcast internet radiostations, works as a digital photo frame or a YouTube-viewer, and allowsusers to access their Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Contentpartners currently include CBS, MTV Networks, The Weather Channel,Scripps Networks and AOL's Shoutcast.

The funny-looking thing even allows you to play games and contains an accelerometer. Is there anything this thing can'tdo? If it were combined with a retro teasmade then you could almost have the perfect morning alarm set-up.

Aside from a few niggles with the touchscreen controls, the first reviews appearing in US press are very positive indeed.

Perhaps the most appealing thing about Chumby,aside from its cutesy aesthetic, is the fact that there are no internetfees. The Wi-Fi features are funded by advertising, though at the timeof going to press a premium subscription model had still not been ruledout.