REVIEW: BluView 5.6 Inch Bluetooth Digital Photo Frame

REVIEW: BluView 5.6 Inch Bluetooth Digital Photo Frame

The initial attraction with this product is the word 'Bluetooth' in the title... and from this you would rightly assume that this means the BluView frame can connect to any other bluetooth enabled device.

It achieves this by means of a bluetooth 'dongle' (supplied) which looks similar to a USB flash drive, but is actually a bluetooth communications device - this provides the link from the BluView digital frame and something else such as a bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. So firstly you must plug the dongle into the BluView's USB port on the side. Then, once you've connected BluView to your bluetooth device, the BluView frame will be able to wirelessly browse all the photos, videos and music that are stored on the device.

In testing, I connected it up to my mobile phone (a Motorola Razr V6 maxx). The first time I tried it, there was some sort of connection fault, but the second time things went smoothly. You will need to know how to make your device 'findable' so the BluView can detect it before any connection can be setup. In my mobile phone's case this was a matter of going into the communication settings menu.
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Whew! That's enough of its Bluetooth capabilities! How about the digital frame features? Well yes, it does look very attractive with the silver and clear border, the LCD image quality is quite good for its size, and the screen's aspect ratio of 4:3 means that most of your photos will fill the screen perfectly.
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The product also features 128MB built in memory (enough for say 500 photos), remote control, music support and video support, and an A/V out feature, so its definitely got all the features that you need out of a digital frame. The operating system is not as user-friendly as some I've seen, but its not overly difficult once you get used to it. Finally, mention must be made of the user manual, which is pleasingly very thorough.

BUYER INFO
Supplier: DigiVista
Web Link: http://www.digivista.com.au/product_bluview_5_6_inch_bluetooth_digital_photo_frame.html

Price: AU$169

SPECIFICATIONS
LCD Size: 5.6 inch (14.2 cm)
Screen Ratio: 4:3
Pixel Resolution: 640x480
Supported Memory Cards: CF, SD, MS, MMC, xD, USB
Package Contents: Frame, Remote Control, USB cable, Manual, Power Adaptor, Bluetooth Dongle, A/V cable
Speakers: Yes
Remote Control: Yes
Photo Formats: JPEG
Music Formats: MP3

Movie Formats: MPEG, MPEG4, DIVX, XVID
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RATE CARD

Looks: 8 out of 10

User Interface: 6 out of 10

Features: 8 out of 10

Value: 8 out of 10

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Summary

Fully featured frame at a good price with an added bluetooth bling factor.
The Good

Wireless works well. Good value.
The Bad

User interface is a bit tricky to master.

REVIEW: Kaiser Baas 8.0" Digital Photo Frame

REVIEW: Kaiser Baas 8.0" Digital Photo Frame

The packaging for this unit is very attractive, perhaps one of the best I've seen. After opening the box, you will find the attractive looking unit, remote control, manual, power adaptor and usb cable.

With only 32MB internal memory, you'll probably find it easier to just plug in one of your own memory cards (including USB memory sticks). The multiple memory card slots are located on the side of the frame meaning that depending on the size of it, your memory card will be visible from the front of the unit while it's attached to the frame.

BUYER INFO
Supplier: Camera Action / Camera House
Web Link: http://www.cameraaction.com.au/products4b.asp?sku=178198&dept=28
Price: AU$399

SPECIFICATIONS
LCD Size: 8 inch (20.3 cm)
Screen Ratio: 4:3
Pixel Resolution: 640x480
Supported Memory Cards: CF, SD, MS, MD, MMC, xD, USB
Package Contents: Frame, Remote Control, USB cable, Manual, Power Adaptor
Speakers: Yes
Remote Control: Yes
Photo Formats: JPEG
Music Formats: MP3
Movie Formats: AVI

RATE CARD
Looks: 8 out of 10
User Interface: 7 out of 10
Features: 7 out of 10
Value: 6 out of 10

Summary
A fully featured frame at a slightly hefty price.
The Good
Choice of colours - black, silver or white. Nice looking.
The Bad
A bit expensive. LCD quality is average.

REVIEW: Desktop Digital Photo Frame and Clock

REVIEW: Desktop Digital Photo Frame and Clock

I admit to being a bit sceptical about a 1.4" LCD display which I thought would be too small to be of any use. However this product makes for a nice combination of LCD digit clock, temperature display, alarm and calendar plus the LCD photo screen at the top.

Opening up the box reveals the unit with batteries already installed - no messing about required. There's three sample pictures already installed so you can see what it does straight away. To download your own photos you first need to install some (windows only) software. The software is relatively easy to use and does a good job of basically taking up to 70 photos you select from your hard disk or wherever, then scaling them automatically and downloading them to the unit. You can also delete and re-order photos.

I found the 2 minute auto LCD screen turnoff feature very annoying - although it will admittedly save your battery life. So if you just want a continuous slideshow, just leave it plugged into the USB port of your computer - while its connected to USB it gets power via the USB cable, and does not turn off automatically.

BUYER INFO
Supplier: DigiVista
Web Link: http://www.digivista.com.au/product_desktop_digital_photo_frame_and_clock.html
Price: AU$49

SPECIFICATIONS
LCD Size: 1.4 inch (3.6 cm)
Screen Ratio: 4:3
Pixel Resolution: 240x108
Package Contents: Frame, USB cable, Manual, Software on CD-ROM, Batteries (installed).
Photo Formats: JPEG, BMP,GIF,TIF,PNG

RATE CARD
Looks: 7 out of 10
User Interface: 7 out of 10
Features: 7 out of 10
Value: 8 out of 10

Summary
Great things come in small packages.
The Good
Good value. Adds instant bling appeal to your workspace.
The Bad
Auto-turnoff feature (see review). No software provided for Mac or Linux users.