5 Special Devices from CES 2010 that Run on Linux

Lots of fascinating new devices were showcased during past week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. In addition to marketing new products events like the CES serve as an opportunity to demonstrate what technology can do. Naturally, some of those feats may not prove particularly useful, but they are fun to watch anyway.

Even more fun if the underlying software is built on top of Linux, as is the case for the following special devices found at CES 2010.

Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer

Sony calls the Dash a Personal Internet Viewer that can be used to watch videos, listen to Internet radio, check the weather report, and quite a bit more thanks to the Linux based Chumby platform that offers free access to more than 1.000 apps.

The Sony Dash has a 7" capacitative touch screen and comes with built-in Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, and a USB port. It will be available in April for $199, which seems a bit pricey for an alarm clock, but hey, you can watch football on the Dash while your wife checks out the latest YouTube videos on the giant flat-screen.

For more information on Chumby and their collaboration with Sony watch this interview with Steve Tomlin on ARMdevices.net.

Marvell SheevaPlug Plug Computer

Marvell's Plug Computer, the SheevaPlug, is an always-on, always connected mini-server that provides network-based services for home and office. It features embedded Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a built-in hard drive, and is powered by a 2GHz Marvell ARMADA 300 processor.

According to Marvel's press release the Plug Computer 3.0 offers a powerful, compact, and green development platform that supports multiple Linux distributions built on top of kernel version 2.6.

Possible usage scenarios are home and industrial automation, medical monitoring, multimedia content sharing, mesh and grid computing and, well, what would you use it for?

Marvell EBOX Mini Computer

Not enough marvellous devices yet? The EBOX is a very small and impossibly light personal computer powered by an ARM v7-based 1.2GHz Marvell Armada 510 processor, running the operating system off an SD card.

In this short demo video the EBOX, which is running Ubuntu 9.10, is connected to a large LCD screen and plays back 1080p HD video. I want one of those. When will it be available and how much will it cost?

D-Link Boxee Box

The Boxee Box is a set-top box that brings TV shows and movies from the Internet or a hard drive directly onto your TV. It's is powered by the Tegra 2 (T20) platform based on a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, can be connected to other devices via HDMI, S/PDIF, composite audio, Ethernet, and USB 2.0 and runs on an embedded Linux operating system.

The Boxee Box is set to be released in the US and Canada in the 2nd quarter of 2010 and will cost about $200. If you are more of a tinkerer and don't want to wait that long, why not build your own open BoxeeBox?

Touch Revolution NIMble NIM1000

If Linux has not entered your kitchen yet, it may be time to think about an Android powered microwave. Made possible by the NIMble NIM1000 module that allows manufacturers to attach Android to devices like microwaves, washing machines, home phones, and on and on.

Actually, I am pretty satisfied with the UI of my more than 20 year old microwave and, best of all, it still works without ever having to update any software. Nonetheless, there was definitely lots of cool and even useful stuff at CES 2010. What did impress you the most?