HP's new DreamScreens pack Pandora and Facebook into a wireless photo frame
By Paul Miller 
posted September 17th 2009 12:30AM
posted September 17th 2009 12:30AM
HP Announces New Line of Wireless Connected Screens with HP DreamScreen
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 17, 2009 – People now can stay current with Facebook friends and photos, listen to Pandora Internet radio, share Snapfish personal photos and enjoy their music and pictures from home networked PCs(1) with a new category of connected screens from HP.
The HP DreamScreen, a companion to the PC, connects easily to a wireless or wired network to bring photos, music and video into any area of the home. The screen also transforms social media and web information into consumable, bite-sized pieces.
"Constant, always-on access to friends, information and entertainment is a common expectation today," said Satjiv S. Chahil, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. "With HP DreamScreen, social media, web services and digital entertainment can be enjoyed in more areas of the home."
The HP DreamScreen features a piano-black design with a vibrant, flush glass widescreen display. The DreamScreen 100 (measuring 10.2 inches) was designed to fit perfectly on a nightstand or dresser. The HP DreamScreen 130 (measuring 13.3 inches) is ideal for kitchen counters and coffee tables.
A product demonstration is available at www.hp.com/go/dreamscreen.
Enjoying digital entertainment
The HP DreamScreen comes with 2 gigabytes of built-in memory for storing photos, music and home movies directly on the device. Digital content can be loaded and played using a USB drive or most types of flash memory cards. Photos and music can be streamed wirelessly or moved to the HP DreamScreen by a simple "drag and drop" motion from a networked PC with included software.
Finding and playing songs is easy – searchable by artist, album or genre – and is enhanced with album cover art. High-fidelity speakers are built in and include connections to accommodate headphones and external speakers.
For music enthusiasts, the HP DreamScreen allows users to stream music directly from the Internet using Pandora. The custom-designed experience makes accessing Pandora accounts easy. Album cover art is displayed and users can personalize their stations by thumbing-up favorite songs or artists to refine their stations.
"Pandora's listeners want to have access to their personalized stations on a variety of devices," said Jessica Steel, senior vice president, Business Development, Pandora. "The HP DreamScreen makes it fun and easy for listeners to enjoy Pandora throughout their homes."
In addition, the HP DreamScreen gives users access to HP SmartRadio, a new service that aggregates streams of live Internet broadcasts from more than 10,000 radio stations around the world. Users can now listen to their favorite radio stations on the Internet by location or genre in any part of their home.
With the HP DreamScreen's capabilities, it becomes the "fourth screen" in people's lives, extending the enjoyment of digital content beyond a computer, TV and mobile phone.
Staying connected
The HP DreamScreen includes 802.11 b or g wireless capabilities to access real-time information from the web. By selecting the Facebook icon, for example, users can stay up to date with their social networks while away from their computers. Friends' status updates, photos and upcoming events can all be viewed in real time.
In addition to viewing images from a PC, flash memory card or Facebook, customers also can access their own or their friends' Snapfish photos and albums. Photos from any of these locations can be enjoyed in slideshow mode simultaneously with music stored on the device or streamed from the user's PC in the background.
Checking time, day and weather
The HP DreamScreen also helps people prepare for and organize their day with access to five-day weather forecasts for cities around the world and a view of their calendar. The HP DreamScreen's built-in clock feature can show time in digital or analog format with dual time-zones and lets users choose tones or music for alarms.
Setting up is easy
The HP DreamScreen was designed to be fun, simple and intuitive. A remote control that nests almost invisibly on the top of the product is easy to use, and touch controls that are visible only when the border of the screen is touched provide another way to select activities or preferences. Both models come with a stand and are ready for wall mounting right out of the box.
Pricing(2) and availability: Perfect for holiday gift-giving
The HP DreamScreen 100 is available today in the United States for $249(2) from online distributors including BestBuy.com, Amazon.com and HPDirect.com. U.S. channel partners include the full range of more than 900 Best Buy retail outlets, which will be selling the HP DreamScreen 100 starting Oct. 11.
The HP DreamScreen 130 is expected to be broadly available this fall in the United States for $299.(2)
About HP
HP, the world's largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.
Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds, is available at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/.
(1) Internet access is required. Wireless 802.11 b/g compatible. Must be within wireless range. Wireless access point and Internet service sold separately.
(2) Estimated U.S. list prices. Actual prices may vary.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected operational and financial results; and other risks that are described in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2009 and HP's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2008. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
© 2009 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Looks awesome, not sure if it's worth spending that much to use Facebook 10 feet away from your computer though. :S
Hilariously, Mashable are calling this a tablet and saying that it 'beats Apple to the [tablet] punch'. Oh dear.
this is sweet shit to use for a party. only for pandora.
rock on, fellow music lovers.
I agree mate, except why not just hook up an iPod touch/iPhone to a speaker system and achieve the same result...
The whole reason want this type of device, including myself, is to have a LARGE(or larger) touchscreen when compared to an iPod touch/iPhone. I love this device and have been waiting form something like this for a long time. It seems they'll be able to add more gadgets to get this device to do just about anything - like managing the lighting, HVAC, security in addition to qeuing movies, etc. Thanks HP - now when can I expect the 20 inch model?
Pretty cool, but I want a touch screen 10" photo frame with flickr support, so it can automatically show my new flickr uploads! Then I might want to buy one.
Flickr ought to partner with someone to bring just such a frame to market....
Yeah, it's called the Kodak EasyShare W1020 and W820 which I think both have been out for almost a year. Even though it has Flickr integration, they also give you more flexibility by pulling down over WiFi any RSS photo feed you want (i.e. Picasa Web Albums among many others)...
I'm not sure I understand these products. What is the point of these things when you can have a netbook lying around that pretty much costs the same and has the same screen size...but does more?
-No keyboard dangling off of it if you want to wall mount it.
-Probably less power consumption. (Pure speculation on my part.)
-Looks better sitting around the living room or kitchen.
-Easier to configure for these specific functions than a netbook. (For the average technology user.)
And I'm not sure you can buy a 13.3 inch netbook for 300 bones. (of course at that size it's hardly a netbook)
@ afroken I agree. Hp clearly doesn't get it. the idea with products with multiple functionality is that you get more for less. The playstation, ipodtouch, are great examples of this. That is certainly not the case with this thing.
@edu
it is called a "niche product", just like all other electronic photoframes. You upload 200+ pictures and mount it on a wall, then it cycles through them. That way you don't need hundreds of frames to display your entire trip to wherever you went last. This new generation is just improving on that concept by offering multiple input methods and increased functionality.
why do we need Pandora or a freakin' Ethernet port on a PHOTO FRAME? WHY!
Do you know how streaming works? If you don't have a wireless network (yes some people have all wired) you would need an ethernet port.
Fork over $50 more and you have a fully functional netbook with a keyboard. $50 less gives you an iPod Touch. This is not going to fly.
The fact this doesn't have a web browser means it is dead in the water.
I assume (although the article doesn't say - pathetic) that this doesn't have a touch screen. Also, for something that will presumably be on all the time, what is the power consumption? Come on, journalism is all about finding out the key points about something and reporting them. This post is very slack.
Come on, was it that difficult to click on the PROVIDED LINK to see the picture about the FCC filing?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/14/hps-dreamscreen-digiframe-puts-on-a-facebook-and-pandora-show-f/
It's clear to me that it doesn't come with an internal battery.
I would like to point out the fact that most of the media is forgetting this little puppy runs on linux (at least according to this guys at pocket-lint: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/27192/hp-dreamscreen-digital-photo-frame
Not to say it's engadget's fault though (as they might have already talked about it in another post), it's not on the press release.
Oh, OK - I didn't get before that Engadget was just an index into stuff elsewhere on the internet. I thought it was a bit more than that. Silly me...
Sorry Nick, I guess I didn't make myself clear enough to you. Right where it says "(which we spotted back in July)" there's a link where they have a picture of it. The link goes to an Engadget article INSIDE Engadget.
So basically yes, it's my fault for not explaining it well enough.
Now my link to the other site is to prove how other sites might have had more info on the DreamScreen and because of that they were able to report that it runs Linux (and as you can plainly see, that part was totally unrelated to what you said). I apologize for the inconvenience that this might have caused you on your daily reading, as I considered more polite to state all I wanted to say in just one comment post instead of trolling for a second one.
Now, and this is meant to be read as it is, when one is quick to say something that might/may/will be proven wrong... One should take a step back, reconsider, research, and then comment, because in the end one ends up looking like if one didn't took the time to read the whole piece. On this subject though I can honestly say that I cannot help you any further.
And because it's 3 A.M. and since English is not my mother tongue, if any of what I just wrote sounds wrong to you, then I go to bed thinking did a great job!
All the best.
I'm not entirely sure what you're saying in your reply - for example do you think I should have stood back and done more research or you?
I do stand by my original comments though - good journalism asks the questions that a knowledgeable person would have asked and answers them within the article.
For example, does this have a touch screen? Answer appears to be no - it's got touch controls on the frame edge - this could have simply been mentioned in the article in a few words. And what is the power consumption for a device that's on all the time? There is no answer in the PR and therefore this is a question that could/should be flagged up as having no answer, which might imply that the device uses more power than would be ideal.
It's somewhat lazy to rely on links to other information rather than addressing these sorts of details in the article, and that is the crux of my point. I don't want this to become a witch hunt, rather for it to be seen as constructive criticism.
All the best in return...
Grandma's picture can actually be enjoyable now!
Umm, not sure if anyone realizes this, but this isn't meant to compete with netbooks or an iPod. HP has a netbook, and they sell quite well. Apple dominates in the PMP category, so this isn't meant to replace either one. And hooking up the iPod to a stereo? This certainly isn't going to be the next HTIB for most people. But for those who want a slick photo frame that doesn't have tacky plastic borders, with a bit of added functionality, this would be perfect. A bit pricey perhaps for what it does, but so is a video game console for which a single game costs >$50. There is a market for everything and a buyer wanting what is offered.
@Srini, Not sure if you realize this, but no one said that this was an Ipod or netbook competitor. We where just pointing out how overpriced this product is.
So video game consoles are overpriced huh? Let's compare
playstation 3 $299=Video game console, blue-ray player, dvd player, CD player.
HPdreamscreen $249=digital picture frame w/facebook and internet radio, that you will never use because where ever you put this frame there is a better music option 8 feet away.
As Spyker mentioned in his comment, if this where a touchscreen with flickr support that would make more sense to me. Or cooliris.
I still don't get why everyone insists on making these with 16:10 or 16:9 format screens? Most pictures are closer to 4:3 in ratio. So you end up either with black bars on the side or you stretch the picture to fit. And I enjoy my pictures enough that I HATE viewing them in the non-original ratio. So I will get nice frustrating black bars. Sigh.
But does it run Google Calendar?
I've been waiting for a photo frame that can display Google Calendar and even better if it can input too! This way our family can have a group calendar that is in one public place (the kitchen) where we can manage our schedules.
Is it pricey? Yes, but it would make life a bit simplier...
Whats the difference between this, And a re purposed Eee Pc?
But can it Hulu?
Here's a review of the DreamScreen -
http://www.digitalpictureframereview.com/2009/09/review-hp-dreamscreen
This device screams Needs Android for me. Especially since Pandora and Facebook now have free Android apps. There are advantages to devices designed to be left on all the time and plugged in, and I expect it's speaker is better then most cell phones. If it ran Android I'd want it.
This comment system is...specially abled? So I'll just have to reply to myself I suppose. Flickr and CoolIris (!) would make this "the ONE", I agree. Side note:
What I think, more than anything actually, is that manufacturers that have the capacity and the product portfolio to integrate absolutely should. It's quite simple. Make everything work with everything else and people will buy your stuff. Love it or hate it, the seamless/homogenous formula has been a hit with consumers as well as the business side. Bottom line, I suppose, expensive or not, it should just work, and last at least a while. The worst thing a company can do with their products is to have people buy them and "live digitally," only to find out that the next latest and greatest gadget has an entirely new structure or operating environment. This photo frame has great potential, so long as it's further developed and built upon with future generations and isn't abandoned for some new design down the road.
Very good point. I would like to ad that these manufactures need to find out what the consumer really want. Just look at the comments here.
Spyker wants a touchscreen and flickr support. I would Like cooliris support. Capetech would like google calender. No one in the history of blog commenting has ever seen a digital frame and said i would like to stream pandora on this.