We approach things from a different angle than Geckoboard.
* As far as I know, they just visualize whatever comes from their data sources. We don't just visualize it, but we store it in our databases. This enables us to provide historic charts and other goodies.
* We make a strong focus on realtime as well, using WebSockets to push updates to the frontend as soon as they're available in the backend. I don't think they're going this far.
* The visual part is just a matter of taste, each one has a very particular style. We actually prefer ours :)
* And from today, our APIs allow handling your data and dashboards without a need to actually use the web frontend. This can be pretty useful in certain integration scenarios.
If you have more questions, feel free to ask.