digital frameare a dime a dozen these days, so a new digital frame needs to have some amazing features to set it apart from the rest. eStarling has certainly given it their all with their brand new digital picture frame that supports 802.11 N, Flickr, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter and more every day.
eStarling’s
digital frame isn’t that different from other frames on the market, at least from the outside. It has a pretty standard black plastic look with a 10.1 inch display. The frame doesn’t have the world’s most pixels, but it does a surprisingly good job of displaying your pictures accurately.
The inside of the package is pretty Spartan. There’s the frame, the stand peg and the AC adapter. And really, what else do you need?
Setup is pretty easy. Actually, the hardest part about it doesn’t take place on the frame at all. Before you even set up the frame, you should prepare yourself for this frame’s coolest feature, Gmail support. Just set up a (new/separate) account at Gmail.com. I know you’re tempted to just keep using the one you already have, but resist; you really need a separate account for smooth operation. After you’re done answering Google’s personal questions, you should be ready to plug in the frame.
The first thing you’ll need to do is select your wireless network. While you can connect the
digital frame over ethernet, why would you want to? This frame supports 802.11 N, making its wireless Internet access potentially faster than the iPhone, since Apple hasn’t enabled its N support. Now, after you’ve put in your network password, tap the Gmail icon and enter in those Gmail account details into the frame. You’ll notice through all of this that the touchscreen is very responsive. It’s still, unlike the iPhone, based on pressure, but I found it to be quite easy to use. Optionally, you can set up Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, Twitter, RSS or potentially more services depending on what they’ve added since this writing. If you do set these up, pictures and perhaps videos associated with your accounts will automatically be downloaded from these services as soon as they are available sans any effort on your part. I’m hoping they add YouTube and iPhoto support.
When I first powered this frame up, and likely the first time anyone powers theirs up, I experienced my second favorite feature of this
digital frame. It automatically checks for and applies firmware updates. If a new firmware is available, it’s downloaded and installed. You don’t have to confirm anything, it just does it, which makes this a great gift for grandma. It’s just so simple. Of course, this also means that it can grab an update anytime it wants to, and if you’re one of those people, it will likely happen right when you’re looking at it. That said, I really only saw it update once, which was right after I set it up. So really, once the frame is set up with account details and settings, it doesn’t need to be maintained with anything other than power. This kind of simplicity makes it feel like the frame could have been designed by Apple. The only thing currently missing is direct iPhoto support, and I’m still hoping.
Again, the main selling point of this frame is the fact that the user doesn’t really have to do anything to get new pictures. Family and friends can send photos over email to the frame any time they like and they’re automatically downloaded and displayed. You can send images home to your family while on a trip straight from your iPhone. Heck, why stop there? You can even send video taken on the iPhone straight to the frame. No need to sync it to your computer, just send it right away. This makes the frame equally amazing for yourself (the tech geek) or any family members or friends who may or may not be technologically savvy, but still have internet access.
There are really only a few features I could ask for on this frame, most of which can be remedied via firmware updates. I’d really like to see some sort of link to iPhoto on my Mac. It can connect to the internet using your network, so I don’t think it would be a problem to sync with an iPhoto album. Building on this, I’d like to see some sort of sorting available. Currently, all pictures are put into the queue that constantly plays. It would be nice to be able to make your own “playlist” of pictures. And since the frame has speakers, it would be a nice (though possibly obnoxious) to be able to play MP3s with it. I don’t want to use it as a stereo, it’s just sometimes fun to have music with your images, like iPhoto…
Overall, the only real downside to this
digital frame is its high price tag. It’s hard to spend $250 on a frame when you can get a similarly sized frame for half of that price from other brands. Those other frames don’t all support WiFi and don’t automatically do anything, but they will display pictures. They probably won’t do videos either. Do you absolutely need these features? Probably not, but grandma likely does. The ease of use is very likely worth the premium on this frame. I can almost guarantee that you’ll forget how much this frame costs when you start using it. It really is a refreshing take on a
digital frame that stands out from other available choices.Oh and one more thing. Apparently eStarling could just feel that I wanted to tell you that the price was lower, and, for a short while, it will be. The current price of the frame is $149.99. So if that extra $50 was holding you back, this is your chance. My parents already caved and got one, and currently love it.
