iGala Wi-Fi Linux Based Photo Frame

ThinkGeek put the word out about the new iGala Wi-Fi Linux-based photo frame!

Unlike other digital photo frames that just accept memory cards and show photos, the iGala has a brain inside its rectangular head. Use the touchscreen interface to configure the iGala to connect to your wi-fi network, then the iGala can do all kinds of smart things like login to a Gmail account and display any e-mailed photos on its hi-res 800×600 screen.

Of course the iGala can pull your photos automatically from Flickr and you can connect to Windows Live FrameIt or FrameChannel if you’re looking for a free web based interface to automatically push photos, news and traffic to your frame. No PC is required because the iGala is essentially a mini touchscreen computer running Linux.

FrameChannel or FrameIt?

The iGala frame comes in two models, one for FrameChannel service (http://www.framechannel.com) and one for Windows Live FrameIt service (http://frameit.live.com). They are both customizable web service platforms to manage the intelligent delivery of personalized content to wireless digital picture frames.

You are not required to use either of these two services. The iGala is perfectly capable of receiving photos sent via e-mail and handling Flickr RSS feeds of photos all by itself.

FrameChannel offers a library of hundreds of channels of content, all optimized for viewing on wireless picture frames. These include text based channels that are converted to images such as news headlines, live weather forecasts, sports scores, and horoscopes as well as image content from sources like National Geographic, AP Images and other galleries shot by the top photographers from around the world. This content is then married with each user’s personal photos that can be uploaded to FrameChannel or pulled from a variety of supported photo sharing sites including Flickr, Picasa, Webshots, Facebook and others. Each user selects the channels that interest them, sets the rules for each channel and FrameChannel applies its rules engine to create a unique content stream for each user that is updated continually. The iGala frame also features a simple One-Click setup for FrameChannel service.

Microsoft’s Windows Live FrameIt service lets users customize a content feed that is delivered via RSS which is similar to FrameChannel. Users can customize weather data, news sources and their own photos via Live Spaces or SmugMug. Once users customized the channel on FrameIt website, they can input its Collection Name on iGala to display its content.

The main difference between the two services is the scope of their image content collections. iGala users will be able to switch between FrameIt and FrameChannel services by performing an easy firmware refresh on the iGala frame.

Product Features

• Wi-Fi enabled photo frame can pull photos from Gmail and Flicker and has touch screen interface for network configuration
• 8″ 4:3 800X600 Digital LCD
• No PC Needed for Setup, No Subscription Fees for Online Use
• Full Screen Touchscreen Interface
• No PC Needed for Setup
• Linux based operating system
• Wifi 802.11b/g with WEP, WPA and WPA2
• 1GB Internal Memory Stores over 5,000 images
• Auto Synchronization with Flickr Photo Sets
• Access to Flickr Private Photos
• Email Photos to Frame
• Windows Live FrameIt or FrameChannel Support for Photos, News and Weather
• Insert SD media card to display photos from the card
• USB Mass Storage Connectivity
• MP3 Support to Play Music
• Auto Power Saving
• 110V/250V AC Adapter
• Clock and Alarm Function

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!

Buffalo PF-50WG 8″ Wireless Digital Photo Frame

Buffalo has updated its wireless digital PF-50WG Digital Picture Frame with Microsoft Live FrameIt, which will allow Buffalo wireless frame owners to synchronize their Windows Live photo Albums with the wireless frame.  This update will be available on Buffalo’s website from the middle of May 2009.

The Buffalo PF-50WG 8-inch wireless digital picture frame is compatible with many file formats, including JPEG, BMP, Mp3, AAC, Mpeg, and 3GPP. It also features an 8-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 800 x 600. the USB port, Wifi b/g, calendar, and clock functions further increase the frame’s versatility. The frame has 85MB of internal memory, and is compatible with most memory cards.

Buffalo wireless frames were already compatible with other online picture store sites, such as Flickr and Picasa, and with the Microsoft Live FrameIt update, the Buffalo frame is even more versatile!

RSS functionality makes your wireless digital picture frame much more than merely a picture frame. A wireless picture frame can display almost anything that has an RSS feed, which means that, interspersed with pictures of friends, family, pets, vacations, and great works of art, you can also view your local weather, sports scores, news, business, financial updates, trivia, quotations, comics, your favorite columns, and pretty much ANYTHING you want.

I hope that Buffalo will consider adding FrameChannel access to its wireless digital picture frames, as I have found FrameChannel to be the very best content provider available today.

The suggested price for the Buffalo PF50-WG is about 160 Euros, or approximately $250.00.

Photo-Vu 19″ Wireless Digital Picture Frame

I like the look of most wireless digital picture frames, but with just a few exceptions, most wireless digital picture frames have only the one “look.”

There is one wireless digital picture frame, however, that can have as many “looks” as there are paint samples in a hardware store. Photo-Vu wireless digital picture frames will give each customer a myriad of choices: choose the frame, choose the background, choose the contrast. . . choose it all. After all, a wireless digital picture frame will become the focal point of any room, and Photo-Vu will help you with the feng-shui of your home.  Those frames at the top of this post?  Those are just two of the choices you’ll have with your Photo-Vu wireless digital picture frame.  Here are some more.

The fully customizable picture frame and matte are just two ways the Photo-Vu wireless digital picture frame is one of the BEST in the market today.  You’ll have 19 inches of bright, clear, colorful photographs, videos, and RSS feeds.  With FrameChannel as your content provider, you’ll soon be seeing anything you’ve got on pretty much any online photo storage website in existence, including Picasa, Flickr,  PhotoBucket, SmugMug, Windows Live Frame-it, Apple iPhoto, etc.

You can also upload your pictures via almost any memory card or flash drive.

The Photo-Vu wireless digital picture frames have been described as the “Cadillac of the digital picture frame industry.”  After seeing these frames in action, I would have to agree.

Manufacturer’s suggestion retail price for the 19-inch wireless Photo-Vu:  $799.00