The Chumby has been a tinkerer’s must-have gadget for over a year, even though the Wi-Fi-enabled squeezable device hasn’t yet shipped. Available in a preview version for $179.95, the Chumby has captured so much interest because it’s a home appliance for showing useful information in the right size–and can be tweaked and programmed for to customize.

In sum, the Chumby is an AC-powered widget client that comes with a host of gizmos you can choose to cycle through and configure as you wish. It’s an alarm clock, iPod dock (of sorts), and picture frame with external speakers. It has two USB 2.0 ports, a headphone jack, and is encased in leather.

But what makes it even more an object of desire? The built-in accelerometer and squeeze sensor. This means that motion (like shaking) can provoke behavior, as well as squeezing. There’s no other interface, although Chumby hackers will likely make short work of that failing.

This opens the Chumby up for things like Chumball, a game in which you tilt the Chumby to keep a ball on top of tiles suspended above an endless fall. It also means you can shake the Chumby to get another widget to appear, depending on how you have it configured.

Early users don’t seem chagrined by the high price, partly because it’s got computer-like abilities even though it doesn’t have an input device, and it’s compact enough to use on a bedside or bring along on a trip.

The Chumby works as an iPod dock, charging an iPod and providing access to its music, although that interface apparently needs a bit more fine tuning. Still, you’d pay over $100 for an iPod dock with speakers alone, so it’s a good part of the sales price.

The Chumby is perfect for the geek who has everything else, because so few people currently own a Chumby.