Jim Jamieson
Province
What is it: Kodak EasyShare EX1011 Digital Photo Display
Price: $149 to $329
Why you need it: You love your digital camera, take a million snapshots, but nearly all of them sit on your computer’s hard drive.
Why you don’t: A wireless
digital picture frame just seems a little too geeky for you, and the price a little steep.
Our rating: 3 (out of 5)
With digital cameras becoming nearly as commonplace as microwave ovens, the sheer number of photos taken every year is mindboggling.
Take into account the fact that the vast majority of snapshots — many of them great pictures — never make it to the printer and end up living on a computer’s hard drive and you begin to get the idea of the market Kodak and others are trying to tap.
While a picture frame seems pretty low-tech and humdrum, Kodak’s new line is anything but.
Its WiFi-enabled models are very cool, as they can display photos from anything connected to a wireless home network or even show your online photo albums.
Of course, this uber-frame can also accept photos directly from a digital camera or a memory card for storage in its 128-MB memory. The frame can also accommodate most video formats and has built-in speakers to play the audio.
The wireless models come with a screen resolution of 800 by 480.
Besides the EX1011, whose frame is 25 centimetres diagonally, Kodak also has a 20-centimetre version that is WiFi-capable ($299).
Completing the new line are two non-WiFi frames, 20 and 18 centimetres, which will sell for $229 and $179.
All models come with a wireless remote, and interchangeable faceplates are available.
They are expected in elecronics and camera stores in March.
© The Vancouver Province 2007
