How to use your iPad as a Photo Frame

Apple Insider has done a great video on using your iPad as a picture frame. But one question remains:  How does an iPad owner marry their iPad resident photos with images from commercial photo-sharing sites like Picasa, Flickr, Webshots, Photobucket and social networks like Facebook?

The iPad – The Perfect Cloud-based Photo Frame?

What happens to your iPad for the 96% of time that you are not interacting with it?

To  Thinking Screen Media  the answer is crystal clear.  The iPad becomes the ultimate cloud-based photo frame.

Thinking Screen Media’s web services platform, FrameChannel, allows for the selection and configuration of content for delivery to connected screens such as the iPad. With 1000 channels, users can combine their personal content (photos, tweets, messages, and favorite RSS feeds) with commercial content such as news, weather, sports, financial and local information.
Partnerships with photosharing and social networking sites allow users to access their personal photos. Commercial content providers deliver a vast library of channels from popular, recognizable sources. In addition, a massive library of hyper-local RSS feeds has been assembled to provide easy access to local events, town and city government updates and happenings at the local schools.

So what’s the ideal iPad functionality for the best photo frame experience?

1. Native functionality to allow for cloud-based slideshows
2. Alarm Clock integration to initiate cloud-based slideshows
3. Screensaver settings to initiate cloud-based slideshows
4. Slideshows which can marry cloud-based slideshows and local iPhoto content

Hopefully Apple is listening!

“Fast and Furious” – iPad Cases and Docks

“Fast and Furious” best describes the introduction of products in the iPad accessories market.

Today, Vers introduced a new wooden case for the iPad.  Although not a dock for the iPad, the wooden case provides an attractive presentation for the iPad’s use as a photo frame. David Laituri from Vers confirms that the case is designed for both portrait and landscape orientations.

Geek.com reports:
“iPad cases and sleeves are cropping up everywhere as the April 3 launch draws nearer with each passing day. Regardless of your taste, the $80 Vers wooden case for the iPad will stick in your mind the moment you see it. Like, now.
Vers, the company that made a name for itself with unusual wooden cases for iPhones and iPods, and a line of audio gear, is already riding on the iPad bandwagon with a newly announced wooden case for the device. One thing inevitably comes to mind when you see your iPad wrapped inside Vers’ wooden case: The first-generation Zune, brown model. Unlike that design misstep, Vers’ wooden case has a certain warmth and cozy feeling to it.”

Will you purchase an iPad this year?