Digital pictures frames, despite being around for several years now, suffer from many limitations. They’re expensive, require electric power, and can often be frustrating to set up.  It usually tends to be cheaper to make a good paper print and then just slip it in a frame.  Ceiva, with their newest lineup of digital frames (the LF4007 is the 7 inch model and the LF4008 the 8 inch one), aims to reduce that frustration.  Instead of simply loading files from a memory card (though this frame can do that), you can add photos to your slideshow in a myriad of ways.  Through a phone line, a broadband connection, or even wifi (these are the first frames to have that capability).

Ceiva does this by way of their Pictureplan service, located on their website.  This site, not unlike Photobucket or Flickr, allows you to maintain an online album (or albums) of your photos.  With Pictureplan, you (or someone else you’ve given access to) can upload photos to the website, which are automatically sent to your frame.  Each night the Ceiva connects to the internet (via one of the three aforementioned methods) and updates the album, displaying the new photos automatically.  This is a very fine idea, and in theory is truly innovative.

However, this is not so easily accomplished.  Like an action figure advertised on Saturday mornings, the good accessories are sold separately.  The frame only comes with a phone cable to connect it to the internet (it dials out, old-fashioned style).  If you want to link it via broadband or wireless, you have to buy the appropriate adapters (you cannot use an off the shelf USB adapter, you have to use theirs).  The wireless method, which is what I tested, is less than perfect in itself.  Setup is a bit mind-numbing (typing in a wireless network key using only arrow keys is not fun), and the adapter’s receiver is less than stellar.  At my mother’s house (I wanted her to see and use this product, she loves showing pictures of her dog), where her desktop computer gets perfect wireless service, the Ceiva cannot receive a signal in much of the house.   When you have to spend additional money to access the product’s most noteworthy feature, one would think it would at least work well.

The Pictureplan service is also a bit deceptive. The frame’s purchase price only includes one month’s service (dubbed a “trial”).  Again, to use this heavily advertised feature, you have to (guess what?) pay more.

While the frame does have a USB port (where you plug in the network adapters and flash drives for software updates), this cannot be used to link the frame to a computer or even load photos from a thumb drive.  Computer connectivity would make setup a breeze, and also give people a way to easily connect the Ceiva to Pictureplan (just plug it into your PC to update the photos).  It would seem that Ceiva would rather you shell out more cash for their network adapters and live with that.

To avoid sounding too negative, the frame’s screen is quite good, with a nearly flawless viewing angle (photos look great even if you’re not looking at them from a 90 degree angle).  The onboard controls are reasonably intuitive (could be better, but definitely usable), and navigating photos is not difficult.  It also comes with both a standard black as well as a fancy wood-grain frame (obviously to make it look more like a traditional picture frame) which actually is not tacky.

To summarize, the Ceiva is a tremendously good product on paper.  However, with all the additional costs just to use the features that make it special, as well as the frustrating setup procedures, I just can’t see it being worth it.   The whole thing just seems unnecessarily complicated.  If it came with more accessories, or at least allowed a user to use regular USB network adapters, it would be a lot better.  It’d be even better if it could be connected to a computer, which would remove a myriad of headaches.  As before, GI Joe just isn’t that fun unless you fork over the cash for his accessories.

• To get your own Ceiva picture frame, simply Click Here
• To see special pricing options on the Ceiva frames, Click Here

 

What happens when you get a digital photo frame, load your favorite pictures in it and hit Slideshow Mode?

We ALL know what happens. Pictures slide by one after the other, another after another. In a few days, you would have relived all your most memorable moments so many times, they would cease to feel so special. It’s a wee-bit boring to see just yourself and your best friends frolicking in the snow, then in the sun, then in the sand, and all over again, isn’t it?

The first time someone mentioned the eStarling digital photo frame, I didn’t think it would become a fixture on my desk as it is today. When I heard the eStarling can connect to any wi-fi network, I wondered whether it was another beta with underutilized potential. But since I got my hands on this digital photo frame a few days back, I have realized that this is a perfect gift for any occasion – whether it is Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, li’l sister’s birthday, or grandparents’ anniversary.

The wi-fi is what makes the eStarling digital frame rock. Once you have set up the eStarling at home, connected it to your wi-fi, you can subscribe to any number of RSS photo feeds from Flickr, Picasa,
Photobucket, AOL, Smugmug, iPhoto, Gallery or Facebook. It’ll be a nice change from just watching your own photos! Plus, every time your friends upload pictures to their social networking accounts, you can watch them almost immediately on the eStarling digital frame. Of course there is also the option of adding photographs with a USB drive or with a memory card.

The next best thing about the eStarling is its emailing feature. Each frame has its own email address, and pictures can be emailed directly to the frame. That is such a wonderful thing for all the Moms and Dad far away from their kids and yearning to see them! One can also send short messages via email or from the cell phone.

All I have to do is email a picture from my regular email account to the photo frame’s unique email address. Bingo! Dad sees the picture almost immediately on the eStarling photo frame perched on his writing desk. Brilliant, isn’t it?

In fact, you can even email pictures from the frame by hitting a simple button. If a lot of your friends have the eStarling, you can group the frames and send pictures to all of them using a single email address.

The only frustrating bit was setting up the eStarling for the first time. It took me a little reading and exercising of the gray cells to hook it up successfully to my home wi-fi network. Once it was set up though, the rest was simple. I registered the frame on the eStarling’s sister website, and subscribed to several different photo feeds. The best and the latest photos in the world now keep popping up on the photo frame – there’s no way I can get bored because the RSS feeds keep showing me new pictures.

And to top it all, the eStarling is sexy – its 8 inch sleek black LCD screen and rounded edges are perfect for a modern home. The picture quality is bright and brilliant, and can be turned off at night for power-saving. I am definitely going to gift one to Dad this Father’s Day!

• You can get your own eStarling digital photo frame by Clicking Here

• You can check out pricing comparisons by Clicking Here