Archive for Wireless Home

Thinking Screen Adds iCal Support to FrameChannel, Bringing Timely Calendar Content to Internet Connected Screens

Marketwire has the scoop about Thinking Screen Media’s latest !

EW.com Is First to Provide iCal Content With Updates on Major TV, Music, and Movie Events

WELLESLEY, MA–(Marketwire – October 1, 2009) – Thinking Screen Media (www.thinkingscreen.com — formerly FrameMedia Inc.), the company that is defining the content experience for screens in the Connected Home, today announced that it now supports iCal-formatted calendar- and event-based content on FrameChannel (www.framechannel.com). Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com, the first content provider to participate, has launched several iCal-driven channels on FrameChannel, through which users can view details on the hottest upcoming TV, music, and movie events.

“We are always looking for new ways to share our content, and FrameChannel is a great example of that,” said Cyndi Stivers, Managing Editor of EW.com. “Those who subscribe to our iCal content for FrameChannel will get EW editors’ picks for the best in pop culture every day of the week.”

FrameChannel is a Web services platform that allows users to browse online and select from more than 1,000 content channels, configured for delivery on media players, connected TVs, digital photo frames, video game consoles, Internet radios, telephones and other information appliances. The FrameChannel platform is featured on dozens of devices in the market today from top brands such as Kodak, Motorola, Samsung, Toshiba and many more. 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.

“We are experts at configuring a wide range of digital content formats for an optimal viewing experience on connected screens,” said Jennifer Sagalyn, VP, Content Partnerships for Thinking Screen Media. “As millions of connected screens hit the market, FrameChannel becomes the perfect service for combining all your photos, social media and information channels, providing a constant stream of personalized information at a glance. iCal support is an ideal addition, giving users access to calendar-based appointments and events from any ical formatted feed.”

Content providers interested in featuring their content on FrameChannel should go to http://www.thinkingscreen.com/content_partners.html. Consumer electronics manufacturers interested in customizing, co-branding, and integrating FrameChannel with their devices should go to http://www.thinkingscreen.com/hardware_partners.html.

About Thinking Screen Media, Inc. (www.thinkingscreen.com)

Thinking Screen Media is a leader in delivering content to “the 4th screen,” a new category of Connected Screens that includes WiFi photo frames, connected TVs, media players, set-top boxes and more. Its free FrameChannel service (www.framechannel.com) can be customized for any screen, and is today available on a growing number of products by top brands such as Kodak, Samsung, Toshiba, Motorola, ViewSonic and D-Link. FrameChannel users can easily select their favorite local, national, social networking, or photo sharing content from more than 1000 channels, and program their devices to feature that content. FrameChannel intelligently streams real-time content from the selected channels, so users can always view the very latest information as they move through their connected home.

Digital Photo Frames Market Driven by Gift-Giving Status

According to the Market Alert over at In-Stat.com, digital photo frames will be purchased mainly as a gift for someone else.  Well, it IS almost time to think about the holidays!

The leading reason future digital photo frame purchasers will buy a frame is as a gift, according to new research from In-Stat http://www.in-stat.com.  Among consumers planning to purchase a digital photo frame in the next 12 months, 38% of respondents to In-Stat’s survey said they would buy the photo frame as a gift for someone else.  As a result, the coming holiday season will be crucial for competitors in the digital photo frame market such as HP, Kodak, Pandigital, Philips, Samsung and Sony.

Overall, global shipments of wireless and wired digital photo frames are on the rise, as prices decline to affordable levels.  In-Stat expects worldwide unit shipments of digital photo frames to reach 50 million by 2013.

The weak economy is certainly slowing growth in this market, as consumers cut back their discretionary spending. However, pricing continues to fall and awareness is growing.  In addition, competitors are introducing next generation digital photo frames that support advanced functions, such as multimedia playback of movie clips and audio files, and include support for Wi-Fi or bluetooth connectivity.

The full article may be found on the In-Stat website.  For more information, In-Stat recommends that you read their full article about Wi-Fi as a global opportunity in the connected photo frame market.

FrameChannel for the Holidays: Ziga DF800W Wireless Digital Picture Frame

Mother’s Day is tomorrow.  Are you ready?  Just in case you haven’t purchased that wireless/digital picture frame for your mother yet, here’s one more piece of advice before tomorrow:

Remember, any FrameChannel-compatible wireless digital picture frame is a superior wireless digital picture frame, as far as I’m concerned.

The new Ziga DF800W wi-fi-enabled picture frame is an attractive wireless frame that will look great in any room and with any decor.  The built-in batter allows you to use the frame without an electric cord dangling down from it, and the Ziga frame is resounding with features!

The high-resolution (800 x 600) digital LCD screen, onboard memory, touch-key controls, USB connectivity, and wireless capabilities help make the Ziga DF800W frame a work of art that anyone would be proud to display.

Besides slideshowing your pictures, the Ziga frame also plays videos and Mp3’s.  With a full gig of internal memory, you can load your frame full.  You can also use almost any memory card or flash drive, as well as the fantastic WIRELESS connection.

The tiny credit-card-size remote enables you to program your wireless digital picture frame from across the living room, while sitting in your easy chair!

No matter where you store your digital pictures online – Flickr, Picasa, etc. -  your FrameChannel account can handle them!  With your FrameChannel account,  your Ziga wireless frame can also display the time, temperature, news, sports, and anything with an RSS feed!  Your options are almost limitless!

The Ziga DF800W 8-inch wireless digital picture frame retails for about $179.99, but if you act now, you can get it on Amazon for only $124.52 – WITH FREE SHIPPING!

FrameChannel for the Holidays: Mother’s Day

I can’t think of a better gift to give your mother – anybody’s mother – any aunt, sister, grandmother, next-door-neighbor-lady, in fact – than a wireless/digital picture frame.

Even if Mom hasn’t got a tech-bone in her entire body, you could still buy her a digital picture frame and load it full of pictures for her.  I gave one to my mother last year and told her to NEVER TURN IT OFF, and it’s the pride and joy of her tv room.  She shows it off to everyone who visits her, and several of her friends have purchased a digital frame after seeing Mom’s.

My mother is frightened to death of electronics, but when I told her that all she had to do was look at the digital frame, and never touch a single button on it, she was ecstatic.

Now, most mothers aren’t as tech-phobic as mine, but you get the PICTURE.  A wireless/digital picture frame is the PERFECT GIFT for Mother’s Day or any day.

If your mom has a wireless connection in her home, all the better.  You can get her a wireless, FrameChannel-compatible frame and send her pictures every day!  Your mother can be involved with her growing grandchildren even if they’re a thousand miles away from her, if she sees new pictures of them daily.

Doesn’t your mother already have enough coffee mugs, afghans, candles, and ordinary picture frames?  Why not give her something that will give her joy every day of her life?

A wireless/digital picture frame is truly the perfect Mother’s Day gift for any mother.  PCWorld.ca even included a digital picture frame in its “affordable and easy to use tech gifts for Mother’s Day!”

Time’s getting short; Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday, May 10.  Get that wireless/digital picture frame and start filling it with pictures, today!