Hands On with HP’s DreamScreen

Tom Spring, at PCWorld.com, has posted an article about HP’s new limited-wireless DreamScreen digital picture frames; he’s not entirely convinced, but we’ll let YOU be your own judge of it:

HP is taking the digital photo frame to new heights with its HP DreamScreen line of smart displays that do way more than just let you browse pretty pictures. The DreamScreen, announced Wednesday, is a beautiful smart display that comes in two sizes (10- and 13-inches diagonally). They link wirelessly to the Internet and can display pictures, five-day weather forecasts, Facebook friend updates, and the Pandora music service. The displays also can be linked to your desktop so you can easily put multimedia content directly on them.

Available today online, the HP DreamScreen will run you $250 for the 100 model and $300 for the 130 model. HP says DreamScreens will be in brick-and-mortar retail stores on October 11.

I checked out the HP DreamScreens last night at an industry event in New York and wouldn’t exactly call them a “dream.” The DreamScreen may look like slick tablet computers that people have been salivating for, but these are just very expensive and very smart displays that lack the key features — such as a touch screen interface and true portability — that could make them breakthrough products.

I’ll get into my beefs with DreamScreen after I break down the specs.

A Digital Photo Frame to Die For

The 130 DreamScreen model has a 13.3-inch display that offers a 16:9 ratio and a resolution of 800 by 480. The 100 unit has a 10.2-inch diagonal display. Both units sport 2GB (1.5GB usable space) of memory, have two USB ports, headphone output for external speakers, built-in stereo speakers, ethernet jack, and a 802.11 b/g wireless antenna. Both units have built-in 6-in-2 card readers that can accept CF and SD cards.

The USB port allows you to connect a thumb drive or external hard drive. The DreamScreen can also play videos (MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264) and music (MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV). Software for a PC allows you to add content to the frame.

You navigate the device using a tiny remote control or via controls built into the hardware. Applications include access to HP’s SnapFish online photo service; a custom version of Facebook for viewing friends, status updates, and photos; access to Pandora music streaming service; HP’s own HP SmartRadio service; and a clock.

The DreamScreen some with wall mounts on the back or can be set on a table. It lacks a battery, so it must stay plugged in at all times.

What’s Not to Like?

My biggest beef with the DreamScreen is that you want it to be a touchscreen device — and it’s not. Last night, nearly everyone who looked at the DreamScreen tried to touch the screen to navigate it. The DreamScreens run an embedded version of Linux that lacks the ability to do much more than run pre-canned HP applications specially designed for the devices. Right now, there are only eight applications, though HP representatives say that number could be expanded soon.

I like the idea of having a limited functioning device, but some basic functions are missing. You can’t check e-mail or browse news headlines, for example. I get that HP is not just creating a touchscreen computer with this device; if I wanted one of those, I could plop down $1400 for HP’s TouchSmart IQ800t. However, I still craved an RSS display and simple messaging notification (be it e-mail, SMS text, or IM). Okay, so responding to messages would be an issue on the DreamScreen, but at least you’d know new messages were there.

Also lacking from the DreamScreen is the capability to view Web-based video content from services such as YouTube and Hulu. E-mail, video, and RSS feeds would all be possible without having to embed a full-fledge OS into the device if HP decided to give the DreamScreen a simple browser. It didn’t.

Another missing feature is the capability to stream video and auido files from your PC, which would eliminate the need to run them locally on the DreamScreen. Ideally you’d be able to navigate libraries of content on your desktop PC or NAS device and playback through the DreamScreen. Right now you can’t.

Another temptation with this device is to pick it up as if it were a sleek portable tablet. Want to take that video you’re watching into the kitchen? You can’t do it without unplugging the device. Even if you don’t mind plugging it in everywhere you go, the DreamScreen sports some bulky hardware on its backside, making it less than ideal for porting from room to room. Once you find a home for this unit, it will most likely stay there.

Now, I’m not going to be popular with HP’s Ameer Karim, director of product marketing. On Wednesday night he told me people just don’t want this type of functionality I want from the DreamScreen.

I readily admit I may be suffering from Apple tablet envy, where I think that everything that kind of looks like a tablet should be a table. But the DreamScreen, for me, is stuck in tablet purgatory. It’s not quite the tablet I want it to be and too expensive to justify as a replacement for the digital picture frame I never use.

The Kodak EasyShare W1020 Wireless Digital Picture Frame: On Sale!

The Kodak W1020 wireless digital picture frame I posted about a few weeks ago is still awesome, and now it’s ON SALE!

At Digital Frame Guy.com, the Kodak W1020 wireless digital photo frame is only $159.28!

PC World says: “The KODAK EASYSHARE W1020…takes the top spot due to its ease of use (and) very good color accuracy.”

Kodak even has a website for the W1020 tech support.

Kodak’s Easyshare gallery will send your pictures, wirelessly, to your frame. Since Kodak frames are FrameChannel-compatible, you can even access your FrameChannel account via your Kodak wireless frame and get much more than pictures!

Kodak’s Quick Touch Border makes the frame easy to manage.

Besides being WiFi-compatible, and FrameChannel-compatible, the Kodak EasyShare W1020 has two SD car slots and 512 MG of internal memory – that’s enough internal memory for over 4,000 pictures!

This wireless frame will also play your videos and your favorite Mp3’s.  You can even set your slideshows to music!

Wireless/Digital Photo Frame Shopping Tips from PC World!

PC World’s Kathleen Cullen has posted an article about several different wireless/digital picture frames!  Included in her post are her opinions about the Kodak EasyShare W1020 (pictured),  the Sony S-Frame DPF-D80, the Pandigital  PAN 1002W02T, the Transcend PF720,  the D-Link DSM210, and the InTouch IT7150.

The complete article may be found right here on PC World’s website.

Please note: Cullen included the Smartparts SPF8WF in her list, but I can not endorse this brand as they have gone out of business and, according to all the emails I am getting about them,  are not supporting their previous customers.

PC World Creativity: Virtual Wireless Digital Picture Frame Perfection!

Danny Allen at PC World.com has created the Perfect Wireless Digital Picture Frame!

(This image was created by Bryan Christie Design, and what a good job!)

Mr. Allen took the best parts of several wireless/digital picture frames available today, and put them together to create his idea of the perfect wireless photo frame, and after reading his article I can only quote the Beach Boys and say, “Wouldn’t it be nice. . . .!”

He’s quilted together some Kodak OLED, some SmartParts SP8PRT,  some Polaroid Pogo, a few Motorola femtocells, a little VoIP, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. . . .and the result was simply, WOW!

You can read Danny Allen’s creative article on the February 5, 2009 page of PC World.com.