In addition to the ability to email the frame photos, the Pulse also works with Facebook and Kodak Gallery sites. Other highlights include a touchscreen interface, 512MB of internal memory, 7″ standard aspect ratio display and LED backlighting, for a more vibrant picture.

The Kodak Pulse Digital Frame will be available for US $129.99 beginning in April 2010.

Editor’s Note – Kodak makes two frame in this series, the D830, which we have reviewed below, and a 10″ model, the EasyShare D1030. Aside from the size of the display, all other specs are the same.

Kodak’s EasyShare D830 is a basic 8-inch digital picture frame that’s perfect for users seeking a great display, easy-to-use photo viewing, and no frills. As the D830 demonstrates, though, “no frills” doesn’t have to mean plain, ugly, or boring. With classic, go-anywhere styling, a nifty touch interface that succeeds in combining form and function, and an innovative approach to interchangeable frames, the EasyShare D830 is a solid option for photo enthusiasts and general consumers alike.

Build and Design

The Kodak EasyShare D830 is a traditionally styled photo frame with a faux double mat, a replaceable dark wood surrounding frame, and an 8-inch LCD. With the supplied wood surrounding frame, the D830 is stylistically versatile enough to blend in in most home or office settings.

Traditional not your style? No problem. With the D830 Kodak has finally hit upon an interchangeable-frame concept that doesn’t require users to purchase specialized surrounding frames from the digital frame’s manufacturer. Instead, the D830’s display unit is thin enough at the edges to accomodate fitment into most standard 8×10 picture frames.

I tested the device with several frames, and in most cases, users should be able to fit the digital display to the standard 8×10 frame of their choosing – though it’s often a tight fit. Still, kudos to Kodak for rethinking the whole idea of interchangeable frames.

Like the recently review Kodak S730, the D830 does away with all visible controls on the front of the device, and sports a single control button on the back. In their place, the S830 utilizes Kodak’s Quick Touch Border system – a series of touch-responsive “soft” buttons (indicated by LEDs) that appear in the frame’s inner mat area, and correspond to options in bottom and sidebar menus that pop up on the screen when the border is touched.

The system’s operation is unchanged from previous versions that we’ve reviewed in the past. Tap the control 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. As before, this arrangement is easy to figure out, easy to use, responds quickly, and generally performs quite well. My only (minor) complaint is that the frame’s Quick Touch Border interface means the silver and white inner and outer “mats” that surround the display itself are not replaceable/interchangeable as well.

On top of the display unit itself, you’ll find the D830’s sole control button – used to cycle the device through its various display modes – as well as the display’s main power button. Particularly astute readers may notice that compared to the S730, the D830 lacks a dedicated volume rocker switch: that’s because unlike Kodak’s higher-end frames, the basic D830 doesn’t support video or slideshow audio playback.

On the frame’s lefthand side, you’ll find all of the device’s connection options. Two separate card slots – one for SD/SDHC and xD card types, the other for Sony Memory Stick variants – cover all of the current camera memory formats except the larger CF cards still used in many advanced cameras. A single USB port can be used in host mode, allowing users to pull pictures directly from USB flash drives.

The D830 features a plastic kickstand-style support, which clips into an adjustable bracket on the back of the display unit. The stand locks in solidly, and can be rotated 90 degrees to allow for portrait-orientation viewing in addition to the default landscape mode. Similarly, the frame’s display unit provides nail recesses for wall-mounting the device in either orientation. Overall, the D830 display unit’s mostly plastic construction is good to excellent, evidencing the kind of quality we’d expect from an established player like Kodak. The included user manual is, like the frame itself, fairly basic: essentially it’s just a quick-start guide. Given that this frame doesn’t pack in a slew of functions and options, though, it’s probably more than enough for purchasers with basic tech knowledge.

Memory/Picture Sources

As noted, the D830 sports a pair of memory card slots and a USB port. Kodak doesn’t supply a USB cable (or, for that matter, any file management software) with this frame, but if you can scrounge one up, the D830 can also be connected directly to a computer; the frame appears as a mass-storage device, allowing users to directly manipulate files stored on the internal memory.

Speaking of memory, the D830 sports 512MB of built-in image storage. In order to make the most of this space, the frame is set up by default to resize pictures to screen size when you transfer them from USB drives or memory cards into internal storage. Hence Kodak’s claim that the D830 can store 4,000 images, give or take. (If you’d rather the frame leave your shots at their full, unaltered size, automatic resizing can be disabled via a menu option.)

When a card or flash drive is inserted, the D830 automatically jumps into slideshow mode, displaying pictures from the new memory source first. Easy-to-use single and multiple select options make pulling files from external to internal memory a relatively quick and painless process.

Display Modes

Like the similar S730, the D830 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. Several options exist 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, and set images to play back in chronological order (newest to oldest, or oldest to newest, based on each shot’s EXIF data).

The D830’s multi-shot automatic collage mode is identical in this implementation to the function on other current Kodak frames. It’s a nice, visually interesting display mode, and a feature that sets Kodak’s frames – even basic ones like the D830 – apart. As before, you can’t change the layout of images within the collage, but you can adjust how frequently new shots are transitioned in.

The D830 also provides basic but attractive clock and calendar modes that use a split-screen display arrangement.

As noted previously, there’s no provision for either video or audio playback on this device.

Menu System

Having reviewed several Kodak frames in the last year, I’ve become familiar with Kodak’s Quick Touch Border interface. Having spent a fair amount of time with this control arrangement, I can say with some certainty that it’s a system that grows on you the more you use it. As an interface, it’s far from perfect: the soft buttons can be laggy or completely unresponsive at times, and the icons used in the sidebar menus are occassionally confusing. All of that said, the system is a vast improvement over the majority of photo frame interfaces out there, and once you get beyond it’s few quirks (you press the “Menu” icon to go up a level in the system, for instance), it’s a very functional control system.

Ditto the menus themselves, which are thoughtfully laid out and relatively condensed compared to the menus in many competitive devices. One press of the main menu icon provides access to the majority of the frame’s options, allowing you to switch modes, select a limited group of photos for playback or copying, change the memory source photos are being pulled from, or configure basic frame options. Equally appreciated is the fact that the settings sub-menu contains all of the frames ten or so setup parameters in a single list, eliminating the need to wade through submenus to track down a specific option. With the D830, what you see is what you get.

Display

The D830’s display is an 8-inch TFT unit. The standard 4:3 aspect ratio display touts some solid specs, including a 500:1 contrast ratio and 270 NIT brightness. Controls are more limited, however, with the D830 providing the option to adjust the display’s brightness only.

In terms of performance, the D830’s screen stands up well other devices in this class, providing excellent side-to-side viewing angles, and better than average up-and-down viewability as well. Colors are bright, deep, and appropriately saturated by default, and can be further enhanced by enabling Kodak’s trademark “Perfect Touch” color enhancement option. Overall, when it comes to the task of displaying photos, the D830’s screen turns in a solid performance that should please serious photogs and family snapshooters equally well.

Extra Features

As has been alluded to throughout, the D830 doesn’t have a lot to add in this area, and if you’re looking for the latest flashy technology or connectivity gimmickry, the EasyShare probably isn’t the right choice. In fact, besides the aforementioned Perfect Touch system and collage mode, the only “extra” feature that really distinguishes this frame is its ability to fit the display unit to standard 8×10 frames.

Conclusion

Without a long list of bonus features and sophisticated technology, you might be led to believe that the D830 fails to impress. When it comes to the basics, though, this frame excels in the fact that it doesn’t surprise. Frames that promise a lot often fail to impress when they don’t live up to their bold claims. The D830 is just the opposite: it doesn’t promise much in terms of features, but it won’t give a user headaches trying to perform basic tasks like loading new photos, deleting old ones, rearranging slideshows, and. It’s this “set it and forget it” simplicity, in fact, that makes the D830 one of the more straightforward, pleasant, and appealing frames out there. For a frame with few advanced features, the D830’s $140 price tag may be a little steep, but even so, I’m betting many users will think the EasyShare’s versatile styling and straightforward simplicity justify the extra expense.

Pros:

- Couldn’t be easier to use
- Display works with most 8×10 picture frames
- Crisp, vibrant display
- Nice collage mode

Cons:

- Few extras for the price
- No audio/video playback
- Quick Touch interface lags at times

Editor’s Rating – 4 out of 5 stars

Kodak EasyShare D830

The net result is these are high-quality basic frames, designed for those who want an easy to use frame with great display, but don’t need the extra bells and whistles like wireless connectivity. These frames also offer the ability to swap out the faceplate, so users can update the look at any time.

Other highlights of the D830 and D1030 includes a wood frame, plug-and-play operation—simply insert a memory card or USB flash drive containing digital pictures and a slideshow automatically begins, dynamic collage mode and clock/calendar views.

The D830 and D1030 join Kodak’s other new release, the battery enabled EasyShare S730, which we recently reviewed.

The Kodak EasyShare D830 will be available in August for a suggested $139. The EasyShare D1030 will be release din September in Europe for €169 but should eventually be available in the US as well.

Kodak also released an HD media player today that has several digital picture display modes. Visit HomeTheaterInABoxReview.com for more info on the Kodak Theater HD Player.

Update 10/10/09 – Kodak EasyShare D830 Review Posted

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

The S730 also integrates a new feature called “Picture Finder” Picture Finder is designed to help people find images they may have forgotten about as their digital photo collections grow. While users are viewing a photo in any viewing mode they can press the Picture Finder button and the frame will automatically display more pictures from that date.

The S730 features several viewing modes. In full-screen Slideshow, pictures scroll individually with an option to show both images and either a clock or calendar. The other option is Collage mode, which scrolls through an entire collection and shows four randomly selected images at a time. To make it easy to switch between modes, Kodak has included a mode button on top of the frame that cycles through the playback modes.

While the actual display size and resolution were not released as part of this announcement, the name suggests it will be a 7″ display. Kodak has also been trending toward widescreen frames lately so it’s reasonable to guess the S730 will also feature a 16:9 widescreen.

Other highlights include an updated version of  Kodak’s touch border interface. The touch-sensitive controls are on the front of the frame and feature a motion sensor that illuminates controls as your hand approaches the frame. The S730 also includes an integrated speaker and supports audio and video playback.

Kodak EasyShare S730 Specs

• Rechargeable battery with one-hour capacity
• 1 GB internal memory
• Mercury-free LCD panel
• Updated Quick Touch Border
• Dynamic collage mode that displays several pictures at the same time
• Mode button on top of frame enables easy toggling between viewing modes
• Multi-card reader, USB drive support 
• Support for audio and video playback
• Optional carry case – $19.99

The Kodak EasyShare S730 will first be available in Europe this month for £149. The S730 will hit the US in September for $139.

Update 7/17/09 – Kodak EasyShare S730 Review Posted

Kodak has paired with the PGA Tour to create the Kodak Challenge fantasy golf game. The free game is open for registration now and starts with the Crowne Plaze Invitational May 28-30. To play, fans will select a fantasy foursome for each of the Kodak Challenge holes, earning points based on their golfer’s best scores for the week.

The weekly winner will receive their choice of a Kodak digital picture frame, digital camera, printer or pocket video camera. Additionally, every time a player submits a roster, they get entered into the Disney Golf Dream Vacation for Four and the end of the season.

This isn’t just for fantasy golf fans though, the players themselves have something at stake, a shot at $1,000,000. Players compete against one another on designated Kodak Challenge holes in 30 different Tour events. The player with the lowest cumulative score on his best 18 Kodak Challenge holes at the end of the season wins the cash and the Kodak Challenge trophy.

Registration isn’t yet open, but you can add you email address to be notified when the game is ready at the Kodak Challenge site. The first competition will occur during the Crowne Plaza Invitation at Colonial on May 28, 2009, where PGA Tour players will take their shots on the par-3, 171-yard 13th hole.

Here’s what The Wall Street Journal had to say today:

The Overland Park, Kan., company is now talking with companies such as GPS device maker Garmin Ltd., Eastman Kodak Co. and SanDisk Corp., which makes storage devices, about delivering wireless Internet service for their products, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In these deals, Sprint will rent out its network and generally collect fees from manufacturers based on how much data is transmitted to the devices. Although wholesale subscribers provide less revenue than retail subscribers, Sprint doesn’t have to worry about expenses for billing and customer service.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that Kodak is at least considering a frame with Sprint wireless service, we know AT&T is pondering a digital frame as well. And maybe we’re so negative on the idea because T-Mobile did such a bad job of designing their offering, but it just doesn’t compute. WiFi-enabled frames accomplish the same thing and setup is getting easier by the day. If you really need it foolproof, then CEIVA’s frames with old-school modem seem to make more sense. Kodak just needs to think this through before following in T-Mobile’s steps by rolling out a $100 frame that costs $120/year to operate.

Aside from these details, not much else is known. LG currently does not offer their digital frames in the US, it remains to be seen if a higher-profile OLED frame will make it over here. This does show a commitment by manufacturers to continue to innovate with frames, so if nothing else, this move is a good sign. We’ll see if LG’s investment and increased production of OLED displays will get prices down – closer to levels where consumers might actually buy them.[via Wired]

“I’m delighted that one of the world’s most innovative and beloved brands, Kodak, is returning for a second consecutive season as our partner on ‘The Apprentice’,” said Donald Trump. “Last season they set sales records with their ink jet printers and this season, smartly, they are promoting digital picture frames – the wave of the future. Their CMO, Jeff Hayzlett, joined me in the boardroom last season, and I know first hand that great things are in store for Kodak in 2009.”

Kodak will be focusing on their wireless line, including the Easyshare W820, which we recently reviewed and gave an Editor’s Choice award, and the Easyshare W1020, which is roughly the same frame, just a bit larger.

The air date of the Kodak episode has not yet been released.

Related Information:

Kodak W820 Review

Kodak Digital Picture Frames

Kodak Digital Picture Frame Forum

Kodak’s newest entry, the EasyShare W820, has all of the latest conveniences and features common to premium digital frames: wireless network capabilities, multimedia support for pictures as well as videos and audio, and a movie-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio. Even with all of these advantages, however, a steep price tag means the W820 will have to work a little harder to prove its value to consumers.

It’s also worth noting that Kodak makes a larger version of the W820, called the EasyShare W1020. The W1020 digital picture frame is essentially the same frame as the W820. As a result, this review will will largely address the W1020 as well.

Kodak EasyShare W820 Specs

• 8” LCD (16:9 aspect ratio, 800×480 resolution)
• 512MB internal memory
• Supports SD, MMC, MS, xD, CF external memory
• USB and mini USB connections
• Wi-Fi connectivity, with content from FrameChannel and Flickr
• Kodak Quick Touch Border
• Audio/video playback (MP3, AVI, MPEG, MOV)

Design and Build

Right off the bat, I liked the looks of the W820. It’s somewhere between the modern-styled “gadget” frames like the Samsung that recently spent time on my desk, and more conservative digital frames that work hard to look like “old fashion” picture frames. The W820 embraces its high-tech nature in its styling without being completely dominated by it. Its wide aspect ratio and lack of glass in front of the display mean you probably won’t be able to pass it off as a regular photo frame, but it’s not going to stick out like a sore thumb in homes or offices that aren’t modernist or minimalist either.

One minor complaint about the W820 is that while the outer faux wood frame is removable/replaceable (although other bezels aren’t included), the plastic material used in this application does a less convincing impersonation of wood than many competitive models. Otherwise, though, the all-plastic frame is lightweight but reasonably well put together.

Kodak did a particularly nice job with the frame’s wide-based, rubber-padded swiveling desktop stand.

If desktop use isn’t your thing, the W820 provides three nail recesses, allowing either landscape or portrait wall-mount orientation in this mounting arrangement as well. There’s also a threaded socket on the back of the device that appears designed to receive a tripod or other stand mount – a great feature for commercial use.

In addition to its removable bezel, the outer area within the two-level mat around the W820’s display is designed to receive one of several available colorful inserts, creating a simulated “double mat” look around the frame. Kodak includes two mats that go nicely with the frame’s cream colored inner mat, and you can buy other colors from Kodak to match room decor or suit your mood.

Interestingly, the plastic accent mats have an adhesive backing for mounting to the display surface. This does raise some concerns about how easily they can be taken up and reapplied, but Kodak notes that if you store the mat on its provided backing paper when not in use, the adhesive should stay good and strong. And after nearly two weeks with one of the mats in place, it was still easily lifted up and left no discernible sticky residue. The concept of “mat stickers” is a little strange, but in practice everything seems to work fine.

One thing you won’t find on the W820 is many buttons. That’s because the entire inner mat surrounding the display is made up of a series of touch-responsive panels, which serve as “soft buttons” when accessing the frames menus and options.

I’ll discuss how, and how well, this control arrangement works momentarily.

Besides volume and power buttons on the top of the frame, rest of the W820 thin inner display area behind the bezel is covered with two memory card readers, mini and full-size USB ports, and even a pair of audio jacks – one for headphones, the other labeled “Audio In.”

I was never able to figure out exactly what purpose the Audio In connection serves, and the user’s manual doesn’t appear to provide any clues. Input for a karaoke microphone, perhaps?

Memory/Picture Sources

The W820 has enough internal storage (512 MB) to host up to 4000 compressed/resized images according to Kodak. Getting files to this memory is accomplished through the frame’s two card readers – a Compact Flash slot, and a multi-card reader for SD, xD, and MS memory – or one of its USB connections (one for hosting thumb drives, and a mini USB port for connecting directly to a PC).

Insert a memory card or connect a drive and the W820 begins playing the new images from external sources immediately. Tap the “Actions” tab at the bottom of the display and the W820 gives you the option to copy single, selected, or all images from a particular external source to the frame’s memory.

Images from the frame’s internal memory pop up quickly, but the whole device can lag more than a little bit when moving images from a card or making selections from external picture sources. Video playback from cards or drives is also dodgy, with lots of stuttering experienced when trying out some sample MPEG movies (as a note, the W820 supports MPEG, AVI, and MOV formats). MP3 audio for slideshows worked without a hitch, however.

With WiFi capabilities, the W820 can also find photos and other content from the web. Primarily, the W820 uses the FrameChannel service for its news feeds. The system itself works fine, and you can get news on a variety of topics pulled together by FrameChannel from several sources, including Reuters and the AP. As we’ve commented before about FrameChannel on this site, though, the news bits are short and often trail off in ellipses mid-sentence.

The W820 can also source other content from the web – photos from Flickr, images from RSS feeds, and lots of FrameChannel content beyond the four or five “channels” that come pre-loaded on the W820. In order to configure which FrameChannel content you’d like to see or add other external RSS feeds, you’ll need to install Kodak’s Digital Display software. The W820 prompts you to install the Mac or PC ready software as soon as you configure the frame’s wireless network, but if you skipped that step initially you’ll have to go back and perform before you can really dig into what the W820 offers in terms of web content.

The installation itself went off without a hitch on my computer running Windows Vista, and approximately five minutes after first inserting the install disc I was able to begin changing up the W820’s web content across my wireless network, without having to physically connect the frame to the computer or even be in the same room. Kodak’s software is easy to understand, allowing you to switch up FrameChannel content or associate the frame with feeds from Flickr users – those of friends and family, or even your own if you don’t want to bother loading images that you’ve already uploaded into the frame’s memory as well.

The W820 can even pull images from RSS feeds, though this is probably the frame’s weakest web-based technology. The frame can’t read full RSS feeds; it can only display the images from them. And even so, there seem to be some inexplicable issues with the feed reader, allowing the images from some feeds to go through without a hitch while others would cause the frame to hang up indefinitely, requiring a reboot to unfreeze it.

But that little snag aside, what really makes the W820 a winner is the Flickr feed integration. Flickr is almost certainly the most popular photo sharing site out there, and the W820 lets you take full advantage of that popularity by automatically uploading new images from any “Photostream” you’re interested in checking out as soon as they’re added. As I said before, if you’re an avid Flickr user, this may mean that you never have to actually load an image in the frame’s local memory again. Add them to Flickr and they’ll immediately show up on the W820. Obviously, you’ll need a Flickr account to take full advantage of these functions, but since basic Flickr access with a limited number of image uploads per month is free, getting connected there should be no big deal.

I do wish the configuration for all of the W820’s web “stuff” was completely browser-based like on Samsung’s newest Wi-Fi frames, instead of requiring installation of an additional piece of software. But everything else about setting up the W820 was to receive web content was so simple that I was able to quickly overlook this very minor headache.

Display Modes

Compared to what most of their competition is doing, Kodak has kept content playback simple, using the same basic interface for viewing pictures, videos, or web content. Starting up the frame to get there, however, takes more time than I’d like. The W820 has a long, video-style intro screen, and then takes nearly 20 seconds to populate web content before allowing access to the home screen.

The home screen provides single-point access to all of the W820’s display modes for various types of content, making it easier to get to and from playback mode than on most frames I’ve tested.

Once you’re in slideshow mode with images or web feed content, the W820 offers basic options for transitions as well as the duration of each slide. The choices here for slideshows are relatively limited, but this is where Kodak’s software again provides a solution. Digital Display lets you build custom slideshows and load them directly to the W820, providing some options not available directly on the frame itself for customizing your image playback experience.

Other than a stuttering problem when playing large videos from cards, the W820 is an excellent video playback device as well. It offers broad file-type support, meaning you’re unlikely to run into compatibility issues with movies, and audio playback from the W820’s rear-mounted speakers is exceptionally good for a device this size. With its 16:9 display aspect ratio, the W820 is ready for your HD movies as well.

Menu System

The W820, in spite of all of its advanced web content access, actually has fewer basic interface modes than your typical frame with this kind of features. As hinted at above, whether you’re playing videos, viewing web feeds, or looking at images, everything is driven through a variation of the frame’s simple slideshow interface, with a row of playback controls along the bottom of the image, and more global controls for returning to the home screen or accessing options on the side.

Other than power and volume buttons behind the bezel, the soft buttons on the frame’s inner mat – which correspond to changing options on the screen – are the only controls. Moving through lists is mostly accomplished by using the bottom row of buttons as a single slider, letting you slide your finger from left to right to move up and down in a list, for instance (and it’s really not as confusing as it sounds).

The illuminated touch areas disappear when not in use, lighting up only when you tap the edge of the frame to call up a menu.

Kodak’s touch-responsive inner mat is one of the better touch systems on the market. Because you don’t actually touch the screen itself, you avoid fingerprints on the W820’s display. The buttons are sensitive enough to pick up inputs consistently without registering many false double taps as some touch panels are prone to do. I only wish that the entire interface were a little faster. When playing images or videos from cards, especially, or accessing larger images from the web, the W820 sometimes takes up to two seconds or more to respond to inputs.

As I said before, the W820’s home screen provides a sort of “home base” for accessing all of the different kinds of content this frame can serve up. From here, settings changes can be made by clicking on the settings tab (duh!), which takes you to a short list of options. If you’re scared of technology, you needn’t be afraid of the W820, as everything about this device – even at its deepest settings adjustment levels – is clearly presented, brief and to the point, and easy to understand.

The only other particularly noteworthy menu option is the W820’s network settings panel. If the frame detects a wireless network on initial start-up, you’ll be prompted to enter this mode right off; if not, you can always access internet connection options from the settings menu.

Once you’re here, you’ll find another straightforward control panel that allows you to scan for in-range WiFi connections and choose the appropriate one. Assuming your prefered network has security enabled, you’ll have to go through the always arduous process of entering a passkey on a device without a keyboard, but with this hurdle crossed, there’s nothing (in my experience using the frame’s Wi-Fi functions) to suggest that things won’t connect right up without a hitch.

If you do need to do some technical troubleshooting, the W820’s manual configuration menu tab lets you dive into detailed networking configuration options.

Display

The W820 is advertised as an 8″ photo frame, but compared most comparable 8″ models, there’s something different going on with Kodak’s new model. Instead of the conventional 800×600 display, the W820’s pixel count measures 800×480, giving it a unique 16:9 aspect ratio that’s becoming more common among “widescreen” media.

Although it’s common for many media types, the W820’s 16:9 aspect ratio doesn’t always work so well for the 4:3 photos from most digital cameras. Depending on your settings, the frame can scale images to width, but this often cuts off important parts of the picture (like the tops of subjects’ heads). Alternatively, you can set the W820 to letterbox the images, preserving their original aspect ratio by putting putting black edge borders on the images. The trade off with this option is that you only get a 640×480 image displayed, instead of an 800×600 shot as on 8″ standard aspect ratio models.

Similarly, the frame can be set to display images in either landscape or portrait orientation, but the screen’s narrow width in portrait mode makes things a bit awkward. Plus the soft buttons are always oriented for landscape use regardless. Clearly this frame was designed with landscape-only use primarily in mind.

Images displayed on the W820 look sharp, colorful, and lifelike, which is a good thing since there are no controls for tweaking the display. (As it’s definitely a premium frame I would have liked to see some rudimentary color/contrast adjustments at the very least.) Viewing angles are also very good, allowing color-correct viewing from almost anywhere in front of the frame, and even directly to the side of it.

Extra Features

The extensive list of web content sources and options outlined above aside, the W820 is pretty short on extra features. There’s no sensor for powering the device on and off automatically based on light or motion, and no options that I could find for programming start-up and shut-down times. Likewise, the lack of advanced display controls may be seen as a features oversight on a frame with so many unique capabilities otherwise.

Bottom Line

The W820 is not without its quirks, but Kodak has definitely come up with a winning formula with the W820. The amount of content you can get from the web on this frame using its WiFi connection, and the ease with which you can do it, really make the W820 a joy to use. Interface design – both the touch-sensitive soft buttons and the “no nonsense” menu structure – is excellent, clearly superior to the poorly designed, laborious menu systems on most digital frames. A few bug fixes would only help the W820, but even without them this is one of the most handsome, solidly built, and uniquely functional wireless frames currently available. Which makes the Easyshare W820’s price point a little easier to rationalize.

Pros

• Innovative touch interface and clear menus work flawlessly
• Great web content integration from Flickr and FrameChannel
• Wi-Fi connectivity is easy to configure
• Weplaceable mats and frames to match any decor

Cons

• No color/contrast controls for display
• RSS feeds work intermittently
• Have to install Kodak’s software to configure the frame’s web content

4.5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Chocie

Kodak EasyShare W1020

• 10 in. (25.4 cm) high-quality display
• 16:9 widescreen
• 512MB internal memory
• Wi-Fi enabled
• Kodak’s Quick Touch Border
• Access the latest news, weather, sports, and more
  Automatically send and receive pictures from KODAK Gallery members right on your frame with the Picture Mail feature

Kodak EasyShare W820

• 8 in. (20.3 cm) high-quality display
• Wi-Fi enabled
• 512MB internal memory
• Kodak’s Quick Touch Border
• Access the latest news, weather, sports, and more
  Automatically send and receive pictures from KODAK Gallery members right on your frame with the Picture Mail feature

Kodak is giving the world a first look at the actual hardware of its premium OLED photo frame during the Photokina imaging trade show going on in Germany this week. The Kodak OLED Wireless Frame features Wi-Fi with the ability to auto-source files from the web, multimedia capabilities,  and a touch interface, but its most impressive spec is its 7.6 inch, 800×480 display using OLED technology.

Organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, screen technology has several clear advantages over LCD designs that are easy to see in the new frame. Sharper, more vivid images? Check.

With no backlighting to wash out images (unlike LCDs, OLED displays don’t need backlighting), there’s simply nothing that does saturated colors like this frame does them. You’ve never seen reds like this from a digital frame.

What about an extremely slim display panel?

Yep, the OLED has that too.

Plus Kodak is one of the only photo frame companies at the moment that has spent lots of time developing a new interface for a frame. The OLED’s touch-frame control system, in which an array of touch sensitive soft buttons light up and allow you to manipulate on-screen menus, makes no apologies for being that much more visually interesting and easy to use than basically everything else out there.

Maybe the interface design will trickle down to some of Kodak’s more fiscally responsible frames, because with a thousand-dollar price tag for the OLED, it’s still not clear if there’s anyone out there ready to fork over that kind of money, even for what may be the world’s nicest tabletop photo frame.

Related News:

Kodak OLED Digital Picture Frame Announced

Kodak is the first to announce an OLED digital picture frame for retail sale. The $999 frame will certainly have the best display of any digital frame in the world. Aside from the amazingly thin design the 7.6″ frame offers pretty much everything else you could want, including Wi-Fi, 2GB of internal memory and a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. This announcement confirms an earlier rumor that Kodak was working on an OLED frame.

The centerpiece of the Kodak OLED Wireless Frame is the ultra-thin, 7.6-inch panel that produces amazing image detail at any viewing angle. Most digital frames look terrible once, you get even a few degrees off center, with OLED technology, you gain a 180 degree viewing angle. Kodak has also built in their “Perfect Touch Technology,” which automatically processes images to improve exposure, brightness and color, and “Image Science,” which optimizes image quality for display on OLED panels.

Beyond the great display and wireless, there are still more great features. Kodak has also designed what they call “a premium audio system” into the frame, providing outstanding sound reproduction for videos, digital music and online content.

Kodak OLED Wireless Frame Specs

• 7.6″ OLED screen
• 16:9 aspect ratio – 800×480 resolution
• 180° viewing angle
• Contrast Ratio – 30,000:1
• Multi-card reader, USB
• Integrated Wireless
• 2GB internal memory

Availability

The Kodak OLED Wireless Frame will retail for $999 and will be available November 2008.

What is OLED?

OLED stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode. The big benefit of OLEDs over standard LCD displays is that they don’t require a backlight. This allows the panels to be much thinner and reduces the power needed for the display. OLEDs also enable a greater range of colors, a higher level of brightness and tremendous viewing angles.

Given the benefits of OLED technology, it’s easy to see why Kodak would have interest. Deploying an OLED digital picture frame would give them the best display panel in the market, easily besting Sony and others who traditionally have excellent displays. Price will be an issue though, even at 7.6″, there’s little doubt that this frame will be the most expensive on the market. [DigiTimes]

Kodak EasyShare P520

Kodak has quietly announced another fall release, the EasyShare P520 digital picture frame. The P520 offers a 5″ display and will retail for $79.99 in September.

Kodak’s P520 is in their basic digital frame family and will join two previously announced wireless frames, the EasyShare W1020 and EasyShare W820, when released next month. The P520 will feature a 5″ display and Kodak’s Quick Touch Border interface.

Kodak EasyShare P520 Specs

• 5″ LCD
• Standard aspect ratio (4:3)
• Quick Touch Border interface
• Two SD card slots, USB drive slot
• White, grey and red borders included

Kodak EasyShare W1020

• $280, available in August
• 10 in. (25.4 cm) high-quality display
• 16:9 widescreen
• 512MB internal memory
• Wi-Fi enabled
• Kodak’s Quick Touch Border
• Access the latest news, weather, sports, and more
  Automatically send and receive pictures from KODAK Gallery members right on your frame with the Picture Mail feature

Kodak EasyShare W820

• $250, available in August
• 8 in. (20.3 cm) high-quality display
• Wi-Fi enabled
• 512MB internal memory
• Kodak’s Quick Touch Border
• Access the latest news, weather, sports, and more
  Automatically send and receive pictures from KODAK Gallery members right on your frame with the Picture Mail feature