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YOUR3 companies with stylish digital photo frames
Way back during the waning days of the dot-com boom, I made a risky purchase: I spent $249 on an Internet-connected picture frame for my parents.
The purchase was risky because I bought the frame, from Ceiva, in late 2000, just as Internet companies were folding left and right. Case in point: Modo.net, a company hawking a $99 wireless device for entertainment listings, imploded just weeks after the product was introduced. If Ceiva folded, the frame would be worthless—just an expensive dot-com relic—as it required a special monthly plan in order to update the frame with new photos, via a telephone line.
Ceiva did not fold, I am happy to report, and the frame displayed many, many images over the years. But the frame is now a relic, as digital photo frames have evolved quite a bit. Now you can find ultra-stylish frames and bare-bones, functional frames. You can find digital photo frames to connect to your computer via Bluetooth, frames you can load via a camera’s memory card, and frames able to play music, too.
- 1Ceiva frames, with optionsCeiva’s frames make it easy for you to buy the frame as a gift, like for your mother-in-law or grandfather, and then update the frame whenever you like with new photos. You do that with a PicturePlan from Ceiva; fees vary, depending on what plan you choose, but the typical month-to-month plan is $9.95 per month. Then, when you upload photos, the frame’s owner will see them the next day, after the frame connects to the PicturePlan service via a phone line. But Ceiva has branched out, too, and now also offers frames where the PicturePlan service is optional.
- 2Sony’s high-end frameAt $250, Sony’s VAIO WiFi Photo Frame isn’t cheap, but it’s stylish and feature-packed, with WiFi connectivity and a built-in MP3 player, essentially allowing you to use it as a desktop stereo.
- 3Digital frames from PhilipsOne of the top makers of digital photo frames is now Philips, with a variety of affordable models available.
Comments
This technology is only going to get better and hopefully cheaper. I know I'm excited about it and think its going to be big.
Ceiva and Sony are hot but watch for Portable USA digital frames to come on soon too.
Great post! Glenn
Allan,
Thank you for the kind words about our frames.
AND I am impressed... sounds like you were a pioneer buyer when we (CEIVA) were pioneering manufacturers of digital frames.
NOW is seems like everyone and there brother is bringing a frame to market.
I look forward to reading more of your posts.
CeivaJoe
www.viewpointframed.com
Yep, I definitely see some interesting things happening with digital frames, esp. as they become increasingly affordable -- and wireless.
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