D-Link DSM-210 unboxing, hands-on, and mini-review

When we first heard D-Link was sending its new DSM-210 Internet Photo Frame our way, we'll admit we had some pretty Star Trekkian visions of what it might entail. The device -- which is a 10-inch, 800 x 480 LCD display with built-in WiFi and ethernet connectivity -- promises to upgrade the familiar static nature of its ilk with a handful of networking enhancements. The frame adds Facebook, RSS, and various photo site (Flickr, Picasa) integration, then couples it with weather reports and the standard slideshow options (using the 1GB onboard storage or SD / MMC / Memory Stick slot). What should be a killer combo -- a frame that actually provides some interactive features -- is unfortunately hampered by its clunky UI and painful navigation via its dimestore micro-remote. D-Link does provide a nice landing page to set up your various accounts, though there's a cap on how many pictures can be in each stream, and it won't let you add two of the same subscription services on the device (say, if you and your spouse have separate Flickr accounts). The weather application is a nice touch, but that fact that it displays advertisements is a bit of a detractor -- do we really need to be bombarded with Dr. Pepper ads interspersed with photos from our peace-keeping missions abroad? All in all, it's not a bad device, but for the $249.99 price tag, you may be better off buying a cheapo netbook for a little bit more cash and leaving it open on a table somewhere.

Gallery: D-Link DSM-210 unboxing, hands-on, and mini-review

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[Blayed @ Jul 10th 2008 8:52AM]

As awesomely futuristic is would be to have an interactive display randomly chilling on your living room coffee table, without a touch screen and clear "sci-fi" looking frame, I don't see this catching on.

[Tim @ Jul 10th 2008 9:55AM]

Yeah, why do all new devices look like big plastic bricks?

[John @ Jul 10th 2008 9:16AM]

*crickets*

[Eddy Alvarez @ Jul 10th 2008 10:10AM]

i like my cute little chumby better and it does more.

[huh @ Jul 10th 2008 11:26AM]

If they'd put vnc on it, and a touchscreen I'd buy it. It'll be the new universal remote. I wonder who doesn't want that to happen.

[thequinox @ Jul 10th 2008 12:47PM]

Why has nobody done this yet? It seems so simple. I have way more than 1GB of photos, and more than would fill any card. That being said I am not going to upload all of my photos to flickr or any other online photo site.

Why can't you pull photos off my network? When you can figure out how to do that, I will buy it. But until then it's just another stupid photo frame that I have to go out of my way to use.

[Cassini @ Jul 10th 2008 5:21PM]

It plays ads? Ugly, clunky UI? Please. What a failure.

There are so many of these things out there, and no one ever seems to really get it right. They get close in some ways, but then always manage to foul something up that makes a person not want to bother with them at all.

Why doesn't Apple make a photo frame? Considering how simple a photo frame is by nature and how nicely Apple designs hardware and UI's, they'd probably be one of the few companies, if not the only one, who could actually do it right.

And yes, of course, no company does everything just perfect - Apple is no exception. But most of us can at least acknowledge Apple's prowess in terms of designing and making things.

Not to mention, they could create an app or integrate software features that could run on a Mac or PC, iPhone, iPod Touch, etc., that could tie in nicely and allow wireless communication with a photo frame of their making.

I'm no Apple shill, but I do have eyes, and I know if Apple made one, their efforts would make photo frames as popular as toasters.