Posted on Oct 11, 2008 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am
Guitarman is a digital picture frame for your desk-top, and Chinavision has not only presented the digital world with a work of art; it has also given us a a wireless digital picture frame with internet capacities! Put it wherever you don’t already have regular access to a computer, and power it up with your laptop whenever needed.
The 2.4-inch TFT LCD photo frame is a great addition to any home or office. Simply plug it into your computer for an instant slide show from your computer or the internet. This frame does much more than just browse your computer for pictures, however. You can use this wireless frame to check the weather from up to five cities, and to peruse the headlines to keep up with what’s happening in the world today. Do you have a Flickr account, full of pictures you’ve not actually seen for months? Now you can! The Guitarman digital frame can access your Flickr account and those awesome pictures will become part of the pictorial slideshow on your digital frame.
The Guitarman is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, and can also run if it’s plugged into your computer or laptop, in which case the memory is unlimited. With a resolution of 320 x 240, the picture is bright and clear.
Market researcher In-Stat tells us that “Because of its large installed base in mobile PC’s and home networks, flexibility, and mature ecosystem, Wi-Fi is a valued. . . technology for the consumer electronic (CE) market.” In-Stat analyst Victoria Fodale says that “The sheer volume of digital TV shipments will make it a strong market. . . . “ In-Stat predicts that the compound annual growth rate for CE Wi-Fi devices through 2012 will be 26%.
That means that embedded Wi-Fi chips could end up in almost a billion consumer electronics devices by 2012, according to a recent Cnet news article. In-Stat states that “. . . more than 294 million consumer electronics devices with Wi-Fi shipped in 2007. But that number is quickly growing and will likely reach 1 billion by 2012.”
In-Stat also reports that because mobile handsets are the fastest-growing embedded Wi-Fi device right now, dual-mode cell phones will become the largest category of Wi-Fi devices by 2011, surpassing PC’s. There are several reasons so many electronic devices are opting for Wi-Fi connections; for one, prices are coming down, WAY down. Another factor is increased battery life. Apple’s iPhone, among others, comes with Wi-Fi.
Right now, most televisions use ethernet for their internet connections, but in the future, digital TV’s “. . . are expected to use Wi-Fi. . . wireless technology could be used to connect TV’s to various devices like set-top boxes and DVD players in an effort to eliminate cords. The only cord needed would be the power cord.”
David Katzmaier reviews TV’s for CNET, and he can “. . . see (Bluetooth) being used for things like wireless surround speakers and remote controls . . . even to integrate cell phones into the TV experience. . . .”
I am wondering, personally, if wireless technology can make it easy for people like me, with a wireless digital picture frame, to access internet content such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube, to name just a few. We’re already watching videos on our wireless frames; if these bigger sites featured RSS, FrameChannel could pick them up and wireless picture frame owners could watch their favorite videos and movies on our wireless frames, bypassing the television set altogether.
Everybody likes to carry a picture or two of their loved ones. Now, however, you can carry a LOT of pictures in your wallet, and you’ll still be able to close it!
The beautiful leather i-Wallet from Boysstuff will not only display dozens of pictures on the 1.4-inch color STN screen, it will also play back 140 seconds of sound! You can hear your child’s voice as you look at your child’s face!
Your pictures transfer easily from your PC to the i-Wallet via USB, and the cable and software are included. The i-Wallet recharges via your USB cable, too.
This is the perfect gift for anyone in your life, and especially for fathers.
Wireless/digital picture frames are doing almost everything nowadays; why not carry one in your wallet? This is, after all, the 21st century!
Right now, the i-Wallet is available only in Europe, but watch this blog; the minute the i-Wallet is available in the States, you’ll hear it right here FIRST.
I’m hoping I can get one for my husband for Christmas. It would be the perfect gift!
Kristina Knight has an article up, over on BizReport, about FrameMedia’s FrameChannel! I’m a huge FrameChannel fan, as you all no doubt know by now - I consider it to be the best content provider - and it’s exciting to see news and information about FrameChannel elsewhere on the internet.
“You’ve probably seen by now the digital photo frames that friends and family are adding to their computers. FrameMedia is adding a little something extra to those loops and marketers should pay close attention. FrameMedia is one arm of Interpublic’s Initiative; they are adding content and ads to the picture loops.”
You can read the rest of the article right here on BizReport.
