WifiPhotoFrame
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Kodak Pulse email-to-photo-frame system down for days, millions of memories trapped in the cloud (updated)
We definitely know quite a few people (including this very editor!) who bought their parents Kodak Pulse WiFi photo frames over the holidays, since they seem like a perfect way to share pictures without any fuss -- you can just email the frame directly. Unfortunately, it seems like this cloud service has a dark, dark lining: Kodak's backend email servers have been down since at least Christmas Eve, rendering the Pulse's most interesting feature essentially useless. What's worse, that status display above is more or less buried on the Pulse web site, so it's not even immediately clear that the problem is on Kodak's side -- and when things turn back on we're guessing more than one Pulse owner will find tons of duped photos on their frames from multiple email attempts, since the system doesn't confirm email receipt. We've heard a few anecdotal stories about email photo delivery slowing down / stopping during previous high traffic periods, so you'd think Kodak would have sorted this out by now, but we guess not -- we'll let you know when the company tells us about a fix. Update: Kodak emailed us to say things are working again -- here's the statement: We experienced slower performance of the Pulse server over the holiday weekend due to much higher than anticipated volumes. This resulted in a delay of pictures that were emailed to the Pulse frame. We did immediately address this issue and any pictures consumers emailed have since been delivered. We apologize for the inconvenience this caused our customers. It is our goal to ensure a great experience for all Pulse owners.
Parrot debuts Android-based Grande Specchio photo frame
We've heard promises of an Android-based photo frame as far back as May of this year, but it looks like the folks at Parrot are now finally set to deliver with their new Grande Specchio designer frame. As you might be able to surmise from words like "grande" and "designer," however, this one doesn't come cheap (a hefty $650), but you do of course get quite a bit for all that extra cash. That includes a large 10.4-inch touchscreen that doubles as a mirror (on purpose), WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port and SD card slot for expansion and, of course, Android hiding under Parrot's custom interface. Unfortunately, it's not clear if you can actually use the frame as full-blown Android device, but you do at least have easy access to a web browser, and Parrot is even promising to develop some apps specifically for the frame -- though it curiously says they'll likely be limited since there is "no easy way to get them installed on the hardware." Look for more details when Parrot officially launches this one on November 17th.
eStarling photo frame might just have more social networking skills than you do
Digital photo frames have been more than just photo frames since the earliest days of the product category, but eStarling looks to be expanding things even further than usual with its new 802.11n Touchscreen Connected Frame. In addition to that speedy WiFi connectivity, this one boasts a fairly large 10.2-inch display, 2GB of RAM, an SD card slot and, most importantly, a slew of social networking features. That includes support for photos from Facebook, Picasa or Flickr (more services are also promised), a built-in Twitter client, a video inbox feature to receive videos shot with cellphones (or any other internet-connected device, for that matter), and even its own Gmail address to let anyone easily send photos straight to the frame. Unfortunately for anyone considering this as an alternative to a kitchen computer, there's no full-fledged web browser, calendar apps, or the like, but it will at least give you weather updates, and could well be further improved by some of the promised firmware updates. Of course, all that will also cost you more than your usual photo frame -- $249.99, to be specific.
Sungale WiFi Widget photo frame gets a hands-on
Sungale's recently unleashed a WiFi-enabled, widget-having digital photo frame -- the ID800WT -- and the fine folks over at Zatz Not Funny have taken it for a little spin. The 800 x 600 resolution touchscreen boasts 512 MB of internal storage, and widgets for weather, news, Picasa, YouTube, Gmail, and Internet radio. The reviewer didn't find the widgets to be particularly awesome, in many respects -- their implementation, for instance, made the Gmail app "nearly useless" because it displayed only a few lines at a time, and many had trouble connecting to the internet properly. It wasn't all doom and gloom, however -- they really liked the frame in theory, and thought that the company was shooting for the right idea -- they just didn't actually succeed. The frame will be available sometime in the coming month for about $165.
Parrot intros Specchio WiFi photo frame with NFC
We were hoping WiFi photo frames would be a bit more ubiquitous by now, but Parrot's not waiting around on one lonely wireless standard -- it's introducing the Specchio frame with WiFi and Bluetooth NFC for getting photos to the screen. We've seen NFC in a few mass-transit trials here and there, but only Parrot seems to be really pushing the data aspects of the tech, so it'll be interesting to see how it holds up -- the idea is that you'll take pictures on your phone and simply hold it against the frame to transfer them. Nifty -- just like the frame display itself, which looks like a metallic mirror when switched off. Hm, this might be the first digital photo frame we're actually interested in -- too bad it'll cost $500 when it goes on sale next month. P.S.- Parrot, have some dignity with these press images, will you? The iPhone has an ass-useless Bluetooth stack and you know it. [Via Digital Picture Frame Review]
Samsung lets WiFi photo frame loose in Korea
We already heard of a WiFi-equipped Samsung photo frame hitting Europe, but it looks like the company is unsurprisingly releasing one in Korea as well, albeit with a slightly different model number. From the looks of it, however, that small distinction doesn't seem to indicate any larger changes to the frame itself, with the company's new SPF-72V model boasting the same 7-inch screen, memory card slots, USB port, RSS support, and Windows Media Player 11 interaction as the SPH-72V we saw earlier. It also packs more or less the same price, coming in at 229,000 won, or just under $250.
A Living Picture's Momento WiFi photo frames with SideShow
Man these digital picture frames are coming fast and furious. After making its debut at WinHec back in May, the Vista certified, SideShow-capable Momento photo frame from the awkwardly named A Living Picture, is now up for pre-order on Amazon and others. So whatcha get? Starting with a choice of either a 7-inch (model 70) or 10.2-inch (model 100) TFT display throwing a 800x480 resolution, each frame delivers built-in 802.11b/g WiFi, a multi-format memory card reader, USB jack, RF remote control, an audio output with support for WMA and MP3 (and presumably video) formats, and appears to be Windows Media Connect / UPnP capable to stream content off your PC or other compatible device. You can even pickup a frame for befuddled relatives and update it with your snaps over the 'net via a subscription to Momento Live. What's more, and perhaps the most interesting feature is support for Windows SideShow allowing the frame to run all kinds of XML-driven "gadgets" making the frame capable of displaying your auto-refreshed stock portfolio, current weather, TV schedule, event calendar, etc. That makes for an interesting choice between the $300 Momento model 100 or the $380 RSS-enabled DigitalSpectrum MF8104Premium with similar specs but 0.2-inches more screen and 96,000 more pixels. [Via I Think Therefore I Thought, Thanks Long Z.]
