Archive for Wireless Weather

Motorola 10″ Wireless Digital Picture Frame

Motorola’s beautiful 10-inch wireless digital picture frame will make any room in your house a focal point!

Friends and family, as well as you, can e-amil photos directly to your Motorola frame; it has its own email address! You can also subscribe to various RSS feeds that will appear on your wireless frame, such as local and national news, weather, and sports.

You can even listen to the radio over your Motorola wireless picture frame!

With a screen resolution of 800 x 600, you know your pictures will appear bright and colorful.

An internal memory of 512 mb means you’ll be able to store up to 2300 digital pictures; that’s a lot of pictures, folks.

Your Motorola wireless digital photo frame also accepts SD, SDHC, MMC memory cards and USB flash drives. It’s compatible with Windows 2000 and higher.

Did I mention that it is also an Mp3 player, a calendar, and an alarm clock? Wow!

The holidays are fast approaching; don’t you think the people on your list ought to have a wireless digital picture frame?

TOSHIBA BRINGS HIGH STYLE AND INNOVATION HOME WITH NEW DIGITAL MEDIA FRAMES FEATURING Wi-Fi® CONNECTIVITY

Home Theater Forum has posted a great article about Toshiba and Thinking Screen Media’s FrameChannel:

Through its partnership with FrameChannel®, Toshiba’s Digital Media Frames deliver digital personalized content including weather, news, sports and photos

Atlanta — September 9, 2009 — Toshiba America Consumer Products L.L.C. (“Toshiba”), a market leader in home entertainment products announced cutting-edge advancements for today’s connected home. Taking photo sharing to new heights, Toshiba’s Digital Media Frames deliver real-time information through its partnership with FrameChannel®, such as personalized weather, traffic, and sports scores as well as music and video to any room in the connected home.

Toshiba is creating a new trend-setting product category with its new Digital Media Frame models. Picture the possibilities of a fun, interactive product that not only displays photos but also makes it possible for users to automatically share priceless memories with friends and family anywhere in the world thanks to FrameChannel®. Simply set up a FrameChannel® account and upload images or link favorite photos, music and videos from popular sites like Flickr®, Photobucket®, and Facebook®. Friends and family can stay updated with new photos when their frames are connected to the account.

“Toshiba is dedicated to creating innovative and entertaining products to enhance the needs of today’s connected home,” said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Digital A/V Group. “Through Toshiba’s partnership with FrameChannel®, our new Digital Media Frames allow the user to not only display and share photos, but also customize their frame with personalized digital content, all in one sleek package.”

Not Just a Photo Frame

The feature-packed channels available through Toshiba’s FrameChannel® partnership can be customized to an individual’s passions. Currently there are over 1000 free channels to choose from in 19 categories with selections like People.com, Men’s Tennis, 3-Day Forecast, Stock Quotes and Facebook®, to name a few. Users can subscribe to their favorite channels and their Toshiba Digital Media Frame will automatically update with real-time information.

“FrameChannel® was created to provide a wide range of personalized content to the next generation of digital devices,” said Alan Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Frame Media. (FrameMedia is now called Thinking Screen Media) “With over one thousand current channels, FrameChannel® subscribers can find virtually anything they’re looking for and Toshiba’s new Digital Media Frames take this market to the next level with their intuitive interface and great looking design.”

In a true function meets fashion manner, Toshiba’s tradition of high-gloss design and brilliant screens adorn the frames; Toshiba’s Digital Media Frames offer rich, vibrant, high-resolution screens that make photos pop with crisp color. A tilt senor automatically adjusts to view photos in portrait or landscape formats when the frame is turned on. Easy-to-navigate home screens boast touch sensitive controls that light up when pressed. Home screens are customizable with a calendar, clock and streamed online feature channels to match personal interests and hobbies.

The new Digital Media Frames were announced at House Beautiful Magazine’s Kitchen of the Year in New York City, an event celebrating the intersection of dining, entertaining and design. Kitchen of the Year is an ideal venue to showcase how Toshiba’s Digital Media Frames can seamlessly bring engaging content to every room of the digital home.

Toshiba’s Digital Media Frames come in two sizes – 8-inch frames available in black (DMF82XKU) or white (DMF82XWU) with an acrylic front finish and eye-catching reflective trim and black 10-inch frames (DMF102XKU) offering a striking faceplate design and a slim profile.

Pricing and Availability:

Digital Media Frames

White 8-inch Frame, DMF82XWU (currently available, MSRP $179.99)

Black 8-inch Frame, DMF82XKU (currently available, MSRP $179.99)

Black 10-inch Frame, DMF102XKU (currently available, MSRP $229.99)

About Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C.

Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. is owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, a world leader in high technology products with subsidiaries worldwide. Toshiba is a leading manufacturer of a full line of home entertainment products, including flat panel TVs, Hi-Definition Blu-ray Disc players, TV/DVD Combination products and portable devices. Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. is headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. For additional information, please visit www.tacp.toshiba.com or www.toshibatv.com.

Important Notes:Wi-Fi® can be used to connect to FrameChannel® and Picasa™ services.

Use of FrameChannel® or Picasa™ services for uploading requires a personal computer and a

working Internet connection. To receive FrameChannel® or Picasa™ services on your Digital

Media Frame, you need a working Wi-Fi® connection. These services are provided by

third-parties and are subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Toshiba makes no

warranties, representations, or assurances about the content, availability or functionality of third

party services.

DRM-protected files cannot be played back. For supported storage media and file format types,

please refer to owner’s manual at www.tacp.toshiba.com

1GB (gigabyte) = 230 = 1,073,741,824 bytes. Available storage capacity will be less.

Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

Flickr is a registered trademark of Yahoo!, Inc.

FrameChannel is a registered trademark of Frame Media, Inc.

Wi-Fi is a registered mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

All others are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Frame Media Reinvents Itself as Thinking Screen, Goes After Larger “Connected Screen” Market

Xconomy.com’s Wade Roush has posted a wonderful article about FrameMedia’s new name and additional new goals!  As Thinking Screen Media, the former FrameMedia is still the leader in content delivery to connected screens worldwide.

Wireless digital photo frames, considered one of the hot new categories in consumer electronics back in 2006 and 2007, haven’t taken off as quickly as expected. People love digital frames, but they’ve tended to buy them as gifts pre-loaded with photos they uploaded to the Web, meaning many frames still don’t come with their own connection to the Internet. That’s a problem for Wellesley, MA-based Frame Media, whose whole business, when I last profiled the startup in 2007, revolved around providing fresh digital content for the frames, such as news and sports headlines, weather, and photos shared by friends.

But while Wi-Fi-equipped frames are still playing catchup, another channel for the company’s programming is emerging: so-called “connected screens,” meaning a whole variety of Internet-ready displays that are turning up in homes and offices. As a result, Frame Media is rechristening itself Thinking Screen Media, and going after what CEO Alan Phillips calls “a whole category [of displays] defined primarily by the fact that, unlike PCs, they are limited in their ability to easily search and configure content.” That includes not just digital frames but high-definition TVs, cable set-top boxes, game consoles, Internet radios, and even printers.

Through its FrameChannel platform, Thinking Screen works with publishers such as Time magazine, the New York Times, People magazine, and Weatherbug to offer more than 1,000 channels of content customized for such screens. (Users choose and configure the information feeds at Thinking Screen’s website.) The company is also partnering with virtually every consumer-electronics company on the block—names like Kodak, Motorola, Nintendo, Philips, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba—to make it easy

“Most of the connected screens haven’t hit the market yet, but they will over the next six months,” says Phillips. In particular, Phillips says, “We’ll see an aggressive push by TV manufacturers to enable TVs to go beyond video.” A taste of what he’s talking about already familiar to millions of video game fans is the home screen of the Nintendo Wii, which, in addition to games, offers links to news, weather, shopping, and photos.

The 15-employee startup collected $5 million in Series A funding from Longworth Venture Partners and CommonAngels in May 2008, and there are plans to raise a Series B round this fall, Phillips says. When it comes to supplying content for tomorrow’s connected screens, Thinking Screen has both technical and strategic advantages over existing and potential competitors, he says.

San Diego-based Chumby, whose interactive media player displays information through “widgets” analogous to Thinking Screen’s channels, is the company’s closest competitor, in Phillips’ judgment. But he thinks Chumby will have a hard time delivering content to devices other than its trademark soft-sided appliance, since the widgets depend on Adobe’s Flash video format, which most other connected screens can’t handle. Thinking Screen’s data, by contrast, is delivered using the Media RSS format, created by Yahoo in 2004 and used by thousands of content publishers.

Thinking Screen also has a network of content and manufacturing partners that would be hard for any other company to match, Phillips says. “The barrier to entry is about partnerships on the content side and more importantly on the screen manufacturer side,” he says. “As we create a critical mass of users, the revenue from advertising is shared with both content providers and screen manufacturers, so there is a stream now that encourages the screen partners to make sure that FrameChannel is enabled on their devices.”

Two new products set to emerge from Thinking Screens in the coming months are designed to widen the service’s appeal to consumers. One is a line of inexpensive digital frames dedicated to a single type of content—examples might include a frame that just shows celebrity news from People magazine or news and scores for the Boston Red Sox.

The other is a selection of 35,000 channels aggregating local information. For example, Phillips says, “You could have a Hopkinton, Massachusetts channel, where we’ve licensed content from local news sources, traffic, weather, relevant sports scores, stock quotes for companies, lottery numbers, a Twitter feed from your state representative—everything to do with Hopkinton. So you can imagine watching the Today show at seven in the morning and as a picture-in-picture experience you’re also getting your local town’s feed.”

Wade Roush is Xconomy’s chief correspondent. You can e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com, call him at (617) 252-7323, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wroush.

Press Release: Intouch IT3500 Wireless Internet Radio Cube is the Ultimate Alarm Clock Radio & Photo Frame for Digital Lifestyles

Give students the gift of time management this holiday season; the Intouch Wireless Internet Radio Cube delivers the Digital World in a Compact and Hip Form Factor with Internet Radio, Personalized News and Photo Sharing

Atlanta (September 1, 2009) — Just in time for the holiday season, Giant International has released the Intouch IT3500 wireless Internet radio cube. At just four inches a side, the Intouch IT3500 is perfect for the nightstand, desk, kitchen counter or anywhere access to photos, music, and news is desired. This unique alarm clock and calendar enhances today’s active digital lifestyles. It’s the perfect gift for college students.

“We are excited to add the Internet and digital media into the familiar fixture of the clock radio,” said Marjon de Groot, Business Director for Giant International. “With the Intouch IT3500 wireless Internet radio cube it’s even easier for families to integrate their favorite photos, news content and entertainment into their daily lives without sacrificing space.”

Enjoy Nightly Lullabies from Around the World

With access to over 6,500 Internet radio stations from around the world, any musical taste can be satisfied with the Intouch IT3500 wireless Internet radio cube. From hip hop, rock and adult contemporary, to the newest music coming out of the Caribbean and Netherlands, the Intouch cube makes it easy and fun to listen to long-time favorites, as well as new music from the recent family vacation to Europe. Take a snooze and wake-up in style. After being lulled to sleep by the smooth voice of their favorite country crooner, country-western music fans can select to wake up to rousing western swing tunes on the Intouch. Favorite stations can be easily saved. In addition, music content can also be added from memory cards.

Time Management Simplified with instant, Personalized News and Entertainment

With the Intouch IT3500 wireless Internet radio cube on the nightstand, sleepers awake to see chosen pictures of their loved ones and can automatically get the current weather forecast, traffic up-dates, and other relevant news to help start their day and manage their world. Over 1000 channels of content such as news,
weather, sports and financial data are available through FrameChannel, a free web-based content provider. Up-dates from social networks, news and photo-sharing sites make it convenient for users to stay in touch with family and friends, hobbies and events they care about. Without having to even get out of bed.

Touch sensor controls make it easy for any sleepy-head to access the multimedia features with just a gentle tap of any icon. When rapid action is required touch sensor controls allow for a faster response time compared to conventional input devices such as keypads. Users are able to quickly and smoothly navigate through a range of multimedia feature options.

View Digital Photo Albums in a Cool, Compact Cube

The Intouch IT3500 lets users view and share photos via their favorite photosharing sites such as Facebook®, Flickr™, Webshots® and Picasa®, so its convenient and fun to stay connected with friends and family back home. Students also have the flexibility to download photos directly into the frame from memory cards. Ideal for the dorm room, students can keep family photos handy and visible, while mom can send new pictures of siblings to keep the family close. Office workers can keep any number of photos on their desks to show-off without the space issue and clutter of multiple frames.

Intouch IT3500 Key Features:
• 3.5” (320 x 240) color digital display screen
• Wi-Fi connectivity (embedded WiFi 802.11b/g standard)
• Digital photo frame with FrameChannel partnership providing easy photo sharing and 1000 channels of dynamic content to customize frame with news, weather, sports and more
• Touch sensor control
• Live Internet radio with included vTuner service providing over 6,500 internet radio stations (no subscription fee)
• Audio/photo playback function
• Stereo speakers (1W x 2)
• Memory formats supported: Secure Digital (SD) Card, Multimedia (MMC) Card
• 128MB of internal memory
• Audio jack for headphones or external speaker connection
• Clock, calendar and alarm

Pricing and Availability

The Intouch IT3500 wireless Internet radio cube has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $119.99 and is available through Intouch’s network of retail outlets and at the company’s online store at www.in-touchproducts.com.

About Intouch

Intouch consumer electronics offer innovative technology that delivers communications, information and entertainment to sophisticated, active consumers when, where and how they desire. With its Intouch brand, Giant International is leveraging its marketing and distribution expertise in the consumer electronics market.

About Giant International

Atlanta-based Giant International Ltd. is the global marketer and distributor for Giant Wireless Technology (GWT), an international leader in the development and production of wireless telecommunications products for the consumer market. With manufacturing capabilities in China, GWT provides superior quality products that are also technology market leaders. A diversified, multi-national research and development team helps GWT bring to market products that reflect an international range of product advancements and innovations based on consumer insights. Through OEM and ODM arrangements, Giant International markets wireless communications solutions that deliver entertainment and information for active lifestyles. Currently, products are brought to market under the Intouch, Olympia and licensed Motorola brand.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Spokesperson available for interview. Product available for review or demo.

### Media Contact:

Colleen Philbrick
912-604-1950
philbrickpr@bellsouth.net

Intouch and the Intouch logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Giant International Ltd. All other registered trademarks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Giant International Ltd. 2009. All rights reserved.