Digital photo frames go wireless

The scoop: Momento 100 digital picture frame, by i-Mate, about $300.

What it is: The Momento 100 is a 10-inch digital photo frame that adds wireless LAN connectivity as a way for users to get their photos from a shared PC or the Internet onto the frame. The frame also includes more traditional means of getting photos onto the device, including a memory card slot (supporting SD, MultiMedia Card, xD Picture Card, SmartMedia and Memory Stick formats) and USB port (for USB flash drives). The company also makes a 7-inch display version for about $200.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

The scoop: Momento 100 digital picture frame, by i-Mate, about $300.

Click to see: The pictures in the Momento 100 can be swapped out wirelessly.

What it is: The Momento 100 is a 10-inch digital photo frame that adds wireless LAN connectivity as a way for users to get their photos from a shared PC or the Internet onto the frame. The frame also includes more traditional means of getting photos onto the device, including a memory card slot (supporting SD, MultiMedia Card, xD Picture Card, SmartMedia and Memory Stick formats) and USB port (for USB flash drives). The company also makes a 7-inch display version for about $200.

Why it's cool: The addition of a wireless connection means users can place the photo frame in areas covered by their WLAN, as opposed to near an Ethernet port. The Internet connection also lets users get updated photos to the frame easier than removing a media card, going back to the PC to add them, and then back to the photo frame. With wireless on the device, a frame owner living in one part of the country (grandma and grandpa, as long as they have a WLAN) can receive updated photos from friends and family living in other states. This eliminates sending out e-mails and dealing with PC issues.

The Momento 100 can do this by accessing media RSS streams, such as those offered by Flickr and other photo sharing sites, but i-Mate has its own photo sharing service, Momento Live, which lets users easily upload their photos to a Web site, which then get sent directly to the photo frame. Once you register your frame with the Momento Live and set up your own user name, you can send photos directly to the frame from that e-mail address. You can also invite friends and family to send photos to the frame, but they have to sign up for a free account. This requirement prevents unknown people from sending photos to the photo frame (photos are sent via e-mail to a custom address).

Some caveats: Trying to use the feature where the digital frame can view photos on a shared PC (a Windows PC sitting on a home LAN) was a nightmare. First, this feature requires Windows Vista or Windows XP with Windows Media Player 11 installed. This required a few reboots and updates, including one update where I needed to go to Microsoft's Windows Update page and find a specific "Update Rollup" patch. The on-screen setup of the frame is handled through an overly sensitive remote control, which uses membrane-like buttons that tended to overcompensate. Using the remote to type in a long WPA key on an on-screen keyboard produced several errors and restarts, and just using the remote control to navigate through screens led to many "around the horn drive-bys" (that's where you push the arrow key too many times and the highlighted area goes past the option you wanted).

On other occasions, the connections via the WLAN seemed spotty, even in an area where WLAN coverage was strong. I blame this on the shared media feature of Windows Media Player, however, because the connection to the Internet and the Momento Live service worked flawlessly.

Bottom line: If i-Mate can make a better remote control and work on better sharing capabilities with Windows PC (or even add Macintosh support), they'll have a winner on their hands. Adding wireless connectivity to a digital photo frame is a great idea to keep the photos on the frame updated and fresh. And that's all that grandma wants anyway.