Review: Kodak EasyShare S730

Written on Jul 17, 2009 by MKowalski and filed under Kodak, Reviews

Considering the features found on your typical digital photo frame, there’s certainly a fine line between useful and useless. First and foremost, everyone seems to agree that a frame should display still images–and do so without unnecessary complication. Beyond this, though, just how much additional technology photo frame users will actually use and appreciate is a point of some debate.

Kodak is hoping they’ve hit on the right formula with the new EasyShare S730, a 7-inch wide-format frame that spices things with options like video and audio playback, several unique display modes, plenty of internal memory, and a touch interface. Plus, a built-in battery lets you get the frame off the wall or down from the shelf and get an up close look at your favorite family photos. But will this combination of technology and simplicity spell photo frame perfection?

Build and Design

Sleek and modern, the S730 might just be the most visually appealing contemporary-styled frame I’ve reviewed. The compact but heavy S730 exhibits the kind of well-considered design that succeeds in looking high-tech without looking “techy.”

A dark red, plexi-covered surround extends a couple inches in every direction beyond the S730’s 7-inch screen, and a simple chrome bezel around the edge of the frame finishes the look. Obviously, this design means that interchangeable frame surrounds or other color/style customization options aren’t available for the S730, but the frame’s stylish, neutral appearance should blend in well in most home or office settings. Likewise, excellent build quality all around makes the S730 seem like a high-quality device–a clear step above many of the anonymous frames in this size group.

Like many frames, the S730 has no visible controls on the front of the device. Rather than relying on a touchscreen or remote, however, the S730’s front-side controls are integrated into the frame using Kodak’s slick Quick Touch Border technology.

The frame’s Quick Touch Border is made up of a series of touch-sensitive “buttons” built into the right-hand side of the frame’s surround. Tap this area of the frame and the buttons’ LED indicators appear next to a list of on-screen options that varies depending on which display mode you’re in. A pair of arrows at the bottom of the display also appear when the touch system is activated, providing dedicated scrolling controls. In general, though, the Quick Touch system provides a potentially infinite number of controls from its five right-hand buttons, and their location to the side of the screen keeps fingerprints off the display itself.

Of course, there are a few actual buttons on the display as well: a power button, volume control for music and video playback, and a button that shuffles the frame through its various display modes, are all found on top of the back panel. A pair of rear-facing speakers provide audio output from beneath the back panel as well. The speakers used in this case are larger than your typical photo frame speakers, face slightly sideways for better forward projection, and in general, produce realistic, TV-quality audio as a result.

A built-in stand firmly supports the beefy S730 in either landscape or portrait orientation, although the 15:9 display’s wider, shorter aspect ratio makes the screen awkwardly slender for many uses in portrait mode. There are also options for wall mounting the display in either orientation, but again, a total thickness of just over 1.5 inches by my measurement makes the frame look a bit odd hanging from a wall. Given its smaller display dimensions and substantial depth, it’s clear that the S730 works better in a shelf or desktop environment.

Building on this idea, the S730 is one of only a handful of digital frames to incorporate a built-in rechargeable battery in addition to its AC wall power source. When fully charged, the battery is good for about an hour of slideshow display (less if you incorporate music, or play videos), allowing you to show off snaps stored on the frame to family and friends.

Memory/Picture Sources

The S730 packs a healthy 1GB of internal memory. Per Kodak, this should be room for around 8,000 images–assuming, that is, you resize them to match the frame’s resolution first. To this end, Kodak’s supplied Digital Display Software takes care of as much of this process as you care to allow. Once installed, the software can be tasked with finding all of the pictures on your PC, resizing them, and transferring them to the frame–a process that Kodak calls “syncing”–all while leaving the originals unmolested on your hard drive, of course.

In a nice touch, frame memory management isn’t restricted to the supplied software. When connected via the supplied USB cable, you can opt to simply view the S730’s memory as a mass storage device–just like a connected flash drive or external hard drive.

Speaking of USB, the S730 has a pair of ports: a full-size one for hosting thumb drives, as well as a mini-USB connection that interfaces with the included cable for connecting the device to a computer.

On the other side of the frame, the S730 features dual card slots that support all of the common memory card types (SD/SDHC, xD, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro Duo) except Compact Flash. Regardless of whether the shots were coming from a USB drive or a card, the S730 had no problems finding images during our test. When a new memory type is inserted, the frame automatically jumps into a slideshow display of the images contained on that memory source; assuming you have MP3s stored on same external memory, the frame will even fire up some background music for your slideshow automatically.

The S730 gives you several options for copying files to the frame’s copious internal memory, and in each case the process is relatively intuitive. In typical fashion, you can select all images (as well as video and MP3 audio files) for transfer, or pick files individually using a multi-select option. To conserve memory, the frame downsizes all images stored in its memory to screen resolution by default. If you’d prefer to use the S730 as a storage device for full-size image files instead, this option can be disabled.

Display Modes

The S730 features four basic display modes: slideshow, collage, clock, and calendar (plus the ability to view single pictures and videos). If pictures are loaded into the internal memory or an external memory source is inserted, the device defaults into slideshow mode. Like most frames in this class, the S730 provides a nice range of options for tweaking your slideshow, including the ability to choose transitions, set how long you want each image to stay on the screen, shuffle the order of playback, or even find images taken on the same day as a specific shot and play only those (using the frame’s “Find Related” tool).

As noted, the S730 also automatically plays stored MP3s as background music during the slideshow. For even more involved slideshows, however, the supplied software lets you assemble and save a show composed of selected images and music using a PowerPoint-style interface, save these shows, and transfer them to your device for playback.

The automatic collage mode is equally nice, combining several shots into a visually interesting preset layout. The basic control options, including duration and transition style, are roughly the same as those found for the slideshow mode.

A basic but handsome clock mode, and a similarly designed calendar mode, are nice touches for desktop use in particular, and as before, the S730 gives a decent range of control over the image playback in these modes.

The S730 also supports video playback, and I had no trouble playing standard-def AVI and Motion JPEG videos from both a camcorder and a digital compact on the frame–even when playing directly from an SD card, the videos were rendered smoothly, and the Kodak’s excellent speakers are really appreciated when viewing videos.

Menu System

Clunky menus are a weak point on many photo frames, but the S730’s interface is carefully thought out and easy to navigate–once you get used to using the occasionally tricky Quick Touch Border, that is. Click on the menu icon from any screen and the S730 calls up a clear, to-the-point master menu.

From this screen, you can enter any of device’s playback modes (although, as noted, a mode button the frame’s top panel also cycles through these four modes). Likewise, this menu provides access to a thumbnail view that lets you view, select, move, or delete both images and videos, as well as a setup menu for configuring basic frame options. All in all, the layout, with its combination of text and icons, is easy to follow and organizes the S730’s options and functions into logical basic groupings.

Display

The S730’s 7-inch screen is a little bit smaller than the displays on most other frames at this price point, and owing to its laptop-style 15:9 aspect ratio (compared to the typical 4:3 ratio of most frames), a little bit wider as well. A two-position stand and a built-in orientation sensor allow the frame to be set up in either landscape or portrait orientation.

The combination of this auto-rotate function and the frame’s ability to interpret image orientation data means that, in most cases, landscape images show up in landscape orientation and portrait images in portrait orientation regardless of which way the frame itself is set up.

Kodak touts this frame’s excellent contrast ratio and vibrancy, and my experience with the device backs up these claims. Colors are bright and strong, with deep blacks and sparkling highlights. Viewing angles are good to excellent in every direction, and there’s an option to adjust screen brightness (though no controls for color or contrast) in the frame’s setup menu. A “Perfect Touch” option applies Kodak’s proprietary color processing technology to displayed shots as well, further amping up vivid colors.

Extra Features

The S730’s most significant bonus feature is almost certainly its built-in rechargeable battery. Those who tried out the S730 during my test of the device enjoyed the ability to pick up the frame, carry it around, and show off pictures to others without being “tied” to a power cord at all times.

Equally, Kodak’s Perfect Touch technology makes colorful snapshots look even better, and the “Find Related” tool provides one-touch access to photos or videos shot on the same day–pretty cool stuff for a basic photo frame.

Like most frames these days, the S730 also comes equipped with auto-on/auto-off options, set up via a timer in the frame’s date and time configuration area.

Conclusion

With a great design, straightforward menus, consistent performance, and some nice extras, it’s hard to find much to say against the Kodak EasyShare S730. A slightly larger screen at this price point would have been nice, and the 15:9 aspect ratio is a bit of an odd choice. Alternatively, Kodak has further refined its Quick Touch technology for even better performance, and the S730’s rechargeable power proves to be more of a nicety than I expected. A great screen, smooth video playback (with good audio as well!), and supplied software that actually adds value to the package, rather than simply compounding frustration, all make the S730 an excellent choice for tech-savvy users and general consumers alike.

Pros:

• Stylish design and robust build
• Unique, easy-to-use interface
• Excellent display
• Supplied software adds some nice features

Cons:

• Display is a little small, and oddly sized for 4:3 images
• No interchangeable frames/mats

4.5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Choice

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