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Photo Frames – iPad to PhotoVu

Much of our attention at Thinking Screen Media is focused on the upcoming release of the iPad. We, like Apple, believe that this device will ignite the consumer’s appreciation of the connected photo frame experience. Unlike the vast majority of application developers, Thinking Screen’s concentration is on the 96% of the time when the iPad is not in someone’s hand, but rather in a dock or a stand. It is this period when the FrameChannel service will provide the perfect experience of dynamic, personalized content delivery.

I was reminded of the value proposition of the connected frame last evening. I have a 22’’ PhotoVu mounted on my kitchen wall. There is not a better wall-mountable wireless frame in the market. In many ways, PhotoVu is the “Cadillac” of the photo frame category with a beautiful selection of large premium border-personalized connected frames. If you are seeking to have a home-differentiating addition, take a look at the PhotoVu product line. You won’t regret it!

Information overload, perhaps!

Here’s two proof points:

A project to measure how much information people consume found that an average person uses 34 gigabytes of information each day.

The average American spends more time using media devices —television, radio, iPods and cell phones — than any other activity while awake, says a new study from Ball State University.

With the emergence of connected screens and most notably the April introduction of the iPad, information consumption will expand beyond the study, den, and living room. Cloud-based information appliances will shortly make their way into every room of the house. So we thought we would ask those likely to purchase an iPad this year (38% of our readers), where in the home will they will dock their iPad?

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!