New York — A pair of digital frame manufacturers made a play for the high-end consumer this week, launching one of the largest frames and the first model capable of docking with a refrigerator.
Ceiva’s new 8-inch Wi-Fi frame can dock with Whirlpool’s new centralpark Connection refrigerators. The $249-suggested frame will be sold as a standalone accessory to the fridge.
The frame can connect to Windows PCs to stream images to its VGA-resolution screen. It also works with the firm’s PicturePlan subscription service.
The frame offers a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 500:1 contrast ratio. It does not offer internal memory but displays images from flash memory cards, USB drives or networked PCs.
Both the frame and the fridge are initially shipping through Best Buy.
PhotoVu said it would ship a 22-inch widescreen display this month. The PV2265W, for a suggested $1,299, features a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 1,680 by 1,050 resolution panel. The frame features built-in Wi-Fi for home networking and can stream images from photo Web-sites via RSS.
The frame can also be synchronized with iPhoto and SmugMug online albums, so when changes to images are made online, they are reflected on the frame.
In addition to wireless connectivity, the frame has Ethernet connectivity and accepts USB flash drives and USB hard drives.
