It makes little sense to take a look at the Soundgraph Hummin' 3.03 chassis by itself, even though some resellers may offer it like that. The case itself costs around 260 Euro without any of the aspects of other HTPC enclosures in that price range. So, if you are not planning to use the FingerVU 1016W with this case, go and grab yourself a different case. So now that we have gotten that out of the way: if you do plan to use the wireless 10.1 inch touch screen and do not have a HPTC yet the Hummin' 3.03 is the perfect, albeit not the best looking companion. The use of both the case and monitor results in seamless usability even though such a constellation will set you back a good 500 to 600 Euro.
While the case and the monitor by itself may not be anything out of ordinary, as many other manufacturers offer touchscreen based HTPC enclosures, the fact that this one is wireless should make it worth the price premium. Considering that the majority of users will never end up kneeling down in front of their HTPC to tap on a 5 inch screen but instead use their Media Center remote should be obvious. Thanks to the wireless attribute of the FingerVU 1016W, the display itself becomes the remote and a very potent and intuitive one at that. It does not only replace such a device, but also the traditional mouse and keyboard, which are two devices that have no real place in a living room to start out with anyways.
Some may say, that tablets like the iPad or the many Android tablets can be used in a simiar fashion, but you have to consider the fact, that the Soundgraph system is built for this purpose from the ground up. Both the hardware and software work together so well, which is something you will never achieve with current implementations available in combination with tablets. Overall using the FingerVU 1016W and Hummin' chassis or FingerVU 1016D Dock is so easy and just works flawlessly that it actually ends up justifying the cost and may even make you overlook the fact that the display utilizes a resistive touch screen or that battery life is barely enough for one evening of extended use. To sum things up, there are way too few companies out there "boldly going where no other company has gone before", but Soundgraph has shown that there are still areas which remain unexplored and proves with the entire Hummin' 3.03, FingerVU and HD Frame ecosystem that something both useful and functional can be created. As it stands, we can give this our wholehearted recommendation. If Soundgraph manages to release an updated version with better battery life and a capacitive screen, while maybe even keeping an eye on the overall design, I would give that an Editor's Choice without thinking twice.