The Dash was a device manufactured by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

that connected using

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

to the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. It had a touch screen which the user could use to browse information or listen to music. It was not a portable device since it did not have an internal battery. It was positioned as a ''personal internet viewer'' which could act as an alarm clock,

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

digital photo frame A digital photo frame (also called a digital media frame) is a picture frame that displays digital photos without the need of a computer or printer. The introduction of digital photo frames predates tablet computers, which can serve the same p ...

and many other uses. It had applications which were downloaded onto the device. These were the same as those supported by the

Chumby The Chumby was a consumer electronics product formerly made by Chumby Industries, Inc. It is an embedded computer which provides Internet and LAN access via a Wi-Fi connection. Through this connection, the Chumby runs various software widgets. In ...

device.

History

Sony announced the Dash at the 2010

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

. It was made available for sale in late April 2010. Originally the device was only usable in the United States, with users in other countries being locked out with the message "Error: Missing XAPI Service Mode". On June 25, Sony released a software upgrade allowing Dash to be used in other (if not all) countries, however subsequently restricted international service again in November 2011. The device does ''not'' have international power settings, and can only be powered by

mains electricity Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

of 120 volts, at 60 Hz. Sony introduced two updated versions of the Dash hardware in September 2011. The HID-B7 and HID-B70 refreshed the hardware, with the HID-B70 adding a battery backup. This revision of the Dash device removed Netflix and YouTube streaming support. On March 14, 2015 the Sony Dash stopped supporting all streaming content, including Netflix, Pandora, Slacker, and YouTube, although the device continued to authenticate with Sony and act as an alarm clock. While there has been no public response from the company, such service returned on April 24, 2015. As of March 2016, Sony continued to provide limited support for the Dash, such as promised fixes for a leap year issue and a firmware update to address a problem with the control panel. In April 2017, Sony announced that it "will no longer support dash devices and functionality will terminate" as of July 2017. Chumby.com has initiated a program to try and offer continued support after Sony discontinued service. Chumby.com released their Dash patch on August 6, 2017 to allow Dashes to connect with the Chumby servers.

References

Notes

Hands-Off With the Sony Dash Touchscreen Frame

Wired (magazine) ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fr ...

CES: Will Sony work well with others?

EETimes ''EE Times'' (''Electronic Engineering Times'') is an electronics industry magazine published in the United States since 1972. EE Times is currently owned by AspenCore, a division of Arrow Electronics since August 2016. Since its acquisition ...

Meet the Sony Dash: The Latest Tablet to Debut at CES

Network World International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is a market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.’s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, marketing technol ...

External links

Dash product home page

Dash FAQ
{{Sony Corp Sony products Internet audio players Computer-related introductions in 2010