Ivy Tech’s Professor Steven Combs, AKA “Inspector Gadget” Talks about the Wireless Frame and Apple’s iPhoto

FrameMedia is thrilled to tell the world that we have scored an interview with the fabulous Professor Steven Combs, also known in local tv circuits as Inspector Gadget. We featured Professor Comb’s television demonstration of the wireless picture frame in this post, but now we are proud to present to you even more of his learned opinions.

Steven Combs is a professor at Ivy Tech Community College, at the Evansville, Indiana campus. He wears many hats there, but I think it’s safe to say that if it involves electronics or gadgetry, Professor Combs will have his hands in the pie in some way. After all, they don’t call him Inspector Gadget for nothing, you know. The Professor is also an expert on robotics, and did I mention his Lego fascination? Fact: when Steven Combs talks, electronics people all over the world listen. Professor Combs was kind enough to talk to us, and I can assure you that we are listening. In fact, he gave us so much information, I am going to give you his interview in several parts. Here is the first part:

FrameMedia: Professor Combs, we design the software for the wireless digital picture frame, so we are interested in all the different brands. You mentioned on your “Inspector Gadget” television spot that you considered Digital Spectrum to be the the “Cadillac’ of digital picture frames. What makes this particular frame special?

Professor Combs: I was impressed with the features of the frame. There are many digital frames on the market, but the Digital Spectrum frame seemed to have many features that I have not found on other models, as well as features I feel extend the use of the product. My favorite features included the WiFi access to a network, uploading of images from a remote location, and being able to connect a USB drive or camera directly to the frame to upload images. I think the ability to upload images without a computer is very important for this market. Complicated setup and navigation can quickly frustrate the consumer. Once that happens, the product ends up in the closet.

Soon after demonstrating this product on the “Inspector Gadget” spot, a friend contacted me and asked if I knew of any way he could place a digital frame in his parents’ living room and remotely upload images of their new grand-baby. Having just demonstrated the Digital Spectrum product, I had a recommendation and I now had a wonderful reason that every grandparent should have one of these devices in their home. Now, if we could just make home networking a bit easier.

FrameMedia: Is there a brand that will be a dominant player in this field? For example, will Apple dominate with an iFrame as they have with the iPod?

Professor Combs: There doesn’t seem to be a dominant player in the field yet, and I’m just not sure that there will be. In the short term, I think digital picture frames are going to become commonplace in the office; however, with the decrease in cost of larger HDTV LCD displays, I can see most folks in the home using these display devices for showcasing their family photos. It could be that as digital frames lose a little weight and become slimmer (and drop in price) we could see more of them on the walls.

If Apple did decide to manufacture a frame that integrated with iPhoto, I would be one anxious customer. Especially now that iPhoto includes photocasting. Imagine setting up a photocast in iPhoto and then allowing access to your family and friends. iPhoto now becomes the hub for all family photos.

FrameMedia: Thank you, Professor Combs. We look forward to more of your opinions in tomorrow’s post.

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