You can modify the shortcuts on the home screen, so if you create a new RSS feed (for example), it can be available with a single touch. Very nice.

Still testing the number of photos you can get in through different methods. For those interested, the following Flickr discussions are a good starting point.

http://www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/87885/

First, I had a devil of a time getting it online with a Airport Extreme router set to WEP encryption. It detected the router as using (stronger) WPA2 encryption. I turned off security, and it connected fine. I then changed the router to WPA2, and it also connected fine.

You need the firmware update (and hence the internet connection) to see some of the Flickr options. Links to updated docs for Flickr use are on the Kodak support site.

Finally, on Mac you can access the frame from your web browser, rather than using the Kodak software. Get the address from the frame (Settings > About) and just type that into your browser. I expect you could also do this on PC. Everything you need there to configure the Flickr, RSS etc. I set my W820 up on a MacBook Pro, and it’s streaming pics from Flickr now.

Agree RSS syntax acceptance is hit or miss. You can get your RSS feed from Flickr, for example, from the bottom of the page (for a set, etc). An example of a working RSS syntax is:

http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=12345678@N00&lang=en-us&format=rss_200

(note removed my “id” and put in 12345678 instead)

If you just want to set up a feed based on a tag, you can do that through a wizard, rather than cut’n'pasting URLs.

There are two ways to get to Flickr content. There is a Flickr button on the main screen. Select that and you will get your Photostream and those of your contacts/Friends&family (not sure the exact criteria) intermixed. If you just want, say, a specific set or just your own photostream, you tap the screen again, and select “More Flickr” and there are lots of intuitive options there. No complaints, except that you end up doing 4-5 taps to get what you want (fine for me, not for a gift).

The other option is the RSS feeds I mentioned above. To do those, set them up in the software/web browser. Then instead of the Flickr button, on the home screen you tap the Web Media button, then RSS Feeds, then select your feed. So you save a couple steps this way.

Not sure about the whole “immediately showing up” thing. My impression is that this is not true of RSS feeds, but perhaps it works with the default Flickr option.

My recommendation would be, if this is for a gift, to set up a Flickr account (free) for the recipient, and then make yourself a friend/contact. (All) your (public?) content will then flow automatically to the frame, and you won’t have to worry about other people’s (potentially inappropriate) photos showing up on grandma’s wall.

Also agree the widescreen, while looking really nice, make the occasional picture awkward. Most of the time I don’t notice. May depend on the kind of pictures you put in it.

Overall, more finicky than I’d like, but very nice once you get it working.

The service’s cool RSS feeds — that show news and weather, etc. — push advertising to your frame, rendering them unbearable.

I got a xmas gift called Kodak EasyShare W820. The features looks great, the picture quality seems very acceptable, even if the screen size is a bit small for the price paid…

We got it on the WiFi Internet very easy, upgraded the firmware. We copied a few photos on the device with memory cards. Great!

But… why Am I stuck with weather forecast for OTTAWA — where I have friends, but NOT where I reside! — and non-Canadian news and sports feeds?

None of the menus give hint where you are suppose to tell it where you live and what type of feeds you’d like to get…

Now on the PC end : I installed the EasyShare software twice cause it failed the first time. Then checked for updates after it failed to work and then now 2hr later there is an update available! But still 9 times out of 10 I can’t even bring up the Device’s Config menu when doing it over WiFi (and it doesn’t seem like you can do that at all if you plan to use the USB connection)!

So far, I had to manually go and setup an account for a Kodak Gallery service… I _think_ it’s supposed to be done for me, but it failed…

So I uploaded some sample photos, some of which appear of be of lesser quality than the ones uploade directly to the device. A bit odd..

Now IT SEEMS I need yet ANOTHER registration for something called a Frame Channel service… and this MIGHT be where I tell the device I am not planning to move to Ottawa so its forecast is usefull for me!

Easy huh?