Publishers can apply to the free system now. FrameChannel will then re-purpose an RSS feed to produce a sample, the image above is an example of what they have done with a White House blog. After final approval the new channel will go into the FrameChannel system, where frame owners may select it as part of their news feed.

The idea is pretty sharp and gives publishers new ways to syndicate their content, though it’s unclear if advertising will be placed around the content as it currently is with FrameChannel’s content. New syndicated channels should be online in the coming weeks.

We were big fans of the DSM-210 when we reviewed it last year, and D-Link has seen fit to further enhance the platform since the initial release. In the grand scheme this Cellcom deal  is a minor improvement, however, this does signal a move in the right direction, as frame buyers simply don’t want to be saddled with monthly fees to transmit and view their photos. 

“Cell phones have become the Swiss Army knives of communication,” said Rob Riordan, executive vice president and director of corporate development at Cellcom. “The ability to take photos with your cell phone makes it quick and easy to capture unexpected special moments. And now, the collaboration between Cellcom, D-Link and Frame Channel has made it simple for Grandma in Florida to see photos of the family taken in Green Bay within minutes.”

FrameChannel is often the free service bundled with Internet-enabled digital picture frames to display free content like news stories, stock quotes and the like. While it’s free, we’ve never been very big on the service because the management interface is not very good and it laced with advertisements. It appears that the advertisements may be picking up as FrameChannel tries to leverage the “4th screen” in your home.

FrameChannel put out a press release today touting the ads and the Snapple channel. They go on to talk about the wireless digital frame as a new way to interact with consumers at home and the office.

Marc Simons, Manager at Initiative Innovations said, “In the sandbox of emerging media, FrameChannel shows immense promise. Wireless digital picture frames will continue to be a hot holiday gift item, and we’ll start to see explosive growth as prices come down and the technology advances. Frame Media is pioneering this space and we are excited to be participating in the development of this medium.”

Of course the release doesn’t talk much about the content or the service as it relates to the end users, other than the goal of subjecting us all to more advertisements. The problem is, the service just isn’t that good and even though it’s free, on the frames we’ve tested that come with a FrameChannel account, we don’t use the service.

Ultimately what’s more useful is a frame that can double as a secondary monitor for your computer, so at least you can have more control over what gets displayed, and there’s more functionality. FrameChannel will find a home on many frames, we just continue to want and expect more out of them.

FrameChannel has been busy, as they continue to bolster their content offering for Internet-enabled digital picture frames. They’ve recently launched seven soccer league channels, more financial news, and a channel dedicated to those quirky facts found on the lids of Snapple. They’ve also expanded their Spanish language offerings.

The newly added soccer data includes live scores and standings from the world’s leading soccer leagues including the likes of the English Premier League, French Premier League and MLS.

An interesting addition is the Snapple Real Facts channel. I can’t say that I’ve had a Snapple recently, but it appears they offer insight underneath the lid of every bottle. Now there’s no need to buy the Snapple to get your fun facts. Here are a few of the gems you can expect on the frame:

Real Fact #673 – The first Ferris wheel was built in Atlantic City in 1869.

Real Fact #672 – The Wildwoood Boardwalk extends nearly two miles and has over 70,000 wooden planks.

If those two new features don’t get you fired up, perhaps the NFL channel will. This one offer team updates during games, along with standings, similar to their Major League Baseball offering. FramChannel indicates this will be ready by September 4th, in time for the fist games of the season.

These Samsung digital photo frames are made-up in a glossy black bezel with rounded edges for an “elegant look.” All four models feature Samsung’s Starlight Touch Controls which integrate the On Screen Display buttons into the right side of the bezel. Starlight Touch features capacitive touch buttons, which disappear from the bezel after 10 seconds of inactivity. All four of these digital photo frames can also be used as a secondary monitor for your PC, using Samsung’s UbiSync technology.

The Samsung SPF-85V and SPF-105V are Internet-enabled photo frames; which allow for wireless connectivity via 802.11b/g. These frames are optimized for use with Windows Live Spaces for easy photo sharing. Additionally, these frames come with Samsung’s InfoLink feature, which offers the ability to receive RSS feeds from “USA Today” and content from FrameChannel.

One thing that is quite shocking though is that Samsung essentially removed the included memory from the wireless frames, opting for a paltry 64MB compared to the 1GB in the non-networked frames. It’s clear they’re assuming you’ll get your pictures online or via external card. By comparison, D-Link includes 1GB of internal memory with their wireless frame.

Other highlights include a small internal battery on three of the models, which will get you roughly half an hour of video playback or forty minutes of slideshow presentation. These frames also feature a speaker integrated in the back of the frame. All four look nearly identical; we’ve used varying shots of each below to give you a better feel for the frame design.

Samsung SPF-85H

Samsung 85H

• 8″ Display
• 800 x 600 High resolution
• Contrast Ratio – 400:1
• 1 GB internal memory
• Auto on/off function
• UbiSync Technology (Secondary PC monitor via USB)
• Auto Photo Resize
• SD/MMC/MS/XD card reader, USB memory slot
• Dimensions – 8.98″ x 7.38″ x 1.79″
• Weight – 1.6 pounds
• No network option

The Samsung 85H is due out September 1st for an MSRP of $129.99.

Samsung SPF-85V

Samsung 85V

• 8″ Display
• 800 x 600 High resolution
• Contrast Ratio – 400:1
• 64 MB internal memory
• Internal battery (estimated life – 30 minutes playing video, 40 minutes slideshow)
• 802.11b/g wireless
• Auto on/off function
• UbiSync Technology (Secondary PC monitor via USB)
• Auto Photo Resize
• SD/MMC/MS/XD card reader, USB memory slot
• Dimensions – 8.98″ x 7.38″ x 1.79″
• Weight – 1.89 pounds

The Samsung 85V is due out September 1st for an MSRP of $199.99.

Samsung SPF-105P

Samsung 105P

• 10.2″ Display
• 1024 x 600 High resolution
• Contrast Ratio – 500:1
• 1 GB internal memory
• Internal battery (estimated life – 30 minutes playing video, 40 minutes slideshow)
• Not networked
• Auto on/off function
• UbiSync Technology (Secondary PC monitor via USB)
• Auto Photo Resize
• SD/MMC/MS/XD card reader, USB memory slot
• Dimensions – 11.37” x 7.81” x 1.8”
• Weight – 2.18 pounds

The Samsung 105P is due out October 1st for an MSRP of $199.99.

Samsung SPF-105V

Samsung 105V

• 10.2″ Display
• 1024 x 600 High resolution
• Contrast Ratio – 500:1
• 64 MB internal memory
• Internal battery (estimated life – 30 minutes playing video, 40 minutes slideshow)
• 802.11b/g wireless
• Auto on/off function
• UbiSync Technology (Secondary PC monitor via USB)
• Auto Photo Resize
• SD/MMC/MS/XD card reader, USB memory slot
• Dimensions – 11.37” x 7.81” x 1.8”

The Samsung 105V is due out November 1st for an MSRP of $289.99.

Update – We have posted a review of the Samsung SPF-85V. 

Microsoft has recently released a free content service for digital picture frames called FrameIt. FrameIt takes a clear shot at the more established FrameChannel service, which is embedded with many Internet-enabled frames, like the D-Link DSM-210 that we just reviewed.

FrameIt lets users customize a content feed that is delivered via RSS. The promise is nearly identical to FrameChannel, you can customize weather data, news sources and your own photos via Live Spaces or SmugMug; amongst other things. Once you customize the channel, all you have to do is plug in the address of your custom RSS feed into the frame. The frame then consumes the feed and starts displaying your data.

The main setback for Microsoft though is that many frames don’t have their own RSS readers. The D-Link model can consume RSS feeds, but it does so through the FrameChannel interface which mangles the FrameIt RSS feed.

Microsoft also needs to work on the content delivery a little bit. Some channels like weather and their stock photo galleries work well, but the news feeds leave quite a bit to be desired.

FrameIt is in beta and is available to everyone right now. Follow the developments on the FrameIt blog, or customize your personal RSS feed now.

FrameIt Content Screen Shots

FrameChannel, which offers dynamic, web-based content for digital picture frames, has broadened their offering by adding a stock quote and Getty images channels.

Stock Quotes

FrameChannel offers a pretty straightforward interface to add stocks to follow on the frame. When viewing on the frame, each stock cycles through at an 10-second interval, though you can edit the rotation speed. The background will be green, red or blue to indicate an up, down or unchanged status. The stock quotes are delayed 15 minutes, FrameChannel doesn’t yet have access to the live feeds, plus transmission time to the frame. It’s also a bit confusing that if you add more than five symbols, you have to go into advanced settings to set the number of photos to the same number of symbols you want to track, or 99, which is the maximum.

Getty Images

There are now three channels to choose from (Entertainment, Sports and News) that feature pictures and info blurbs from Getty Images. As with other channels, you have to change the default settings to get more than a rotation of five photos though. I toyed with the entertainment and sports channels and ended up learning a lot about cricket. As with many of these channels, you’re beholden to the content that FrameChannel gives you.

We’re not the biggest fans of FrameChannel, but it’s free, so even though advertisements are plastered on each of the screens and channel setup is confusing, it’s a little hard to complain too much.