eStarling Impact7 Released – 7″ Wi-Fi Frame Under $100

Written on Dec 8, 2008 by Brian and filed under News, eStarling

Wi-Fi is a popular feature in high-end digital picture frames, but that generally means a price tag of near $200. The eStarling Impact7 aims to shake up the market by offering a wireless frame for such a low price. There is a compromise though, and in this case that’s the display, which only offers a 480×234 resolution. 

That’s not to say the Impact7 is a lost cause, it does bring a lot of other features to the table, including a dedicated email address to photos may be quickly sent to the frame from anywhere. Images can also be scheduled to be released via an eStarling web interface, which is pretty fun if you want to send a special shot for a birthday or other event. You can also of course connect to online services and photo RSS feeds to view online galleries on the Impact7.

And the success of the iPhone is not lost on eStarling, who offers a free iPhone application that makes sending a shot from the phone to the frame simple. They’ve also done something that sounds very simple, but hardly any other frame does; eStarling has included a little remote control holster on the back of the frame so you finally have somewhere convenient to store the remote.

Aside from these features, the Impact7 also includes a card reader that handles Memory Stick, SD and MMC, along with USB support. It also includes 256MB of internal memory, which is standard for a 7″ frame. The biggest problem we have though is the low resolution and the fact that it’s widescreen, which means images need to be cropped or zoomed to fill the entire display. If you’re expecting to send a bunch of camera-phone shots to this frame, we’re worried about how they’ll look.

That issue aside, it is $99.99 and brings a ton of functionality to the table, more features per dollar than any other frame on the market. The eStarling Impact7 is shipping now, via eStarling Amazon store.

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