Posts Tagged photography

Mad bloggers that we are, we forget that not everyone is quite so wired. Thanks to email subscriptions, my mom gets my personal blog updates to her inbox, but your loved ones might be one step removed from the wired world. That means they don’t get to see images of your travels until you’re sitting down with them. CEIVA’a digital picture frame makes it easy for you to send images to your less wired friends and family, to share your travels from far away places via the magic of the web.

Basic set up is quite simple — and you don’t need internet to get started, you can set it up over the phone. It’s easy. That’s just the first step. This gadget requires, at the most basic, a few file management and administrative tasks. Ideally, the administrator is the person that owns the frame, but it doesn’t have to be, you can register the frame and have it sent to your auntie or grandfather. You’ll be responsible for the webby interactions — uploading photos, inviting people to share their pictures — while auntie or grand-dad will need to connect the frame to a phone line, a router, or wifi. Once that’s done, new images will download to the frame automatically, and they’ll be able to delete the things they don’t want to see.

I’d recommend doing the set up yourself, first, then sending it along to the recipient. CEIVA puts some intermediary slides in there that I didn’t want to see over and over again in my slide show. I know they’re meant to be helpful, but I’m pretty sure my mother in law doesn’t need to see the “Congrats, your frame is registered” message more than once. Plus, seeing the pictures appear is confirmation enough. They looked great, by the way, big enough to appreciate and the back-lighting does make them shine.

Once the frame is registered, you can start inviting people to share their pictures — they’ll just sort of magically show up when you update the frame. It’s kind of a cool concept. Imagine, you’re off traveling, and whenever you get a chance, you can send new images to your people back home. I love the idea of this. My old dad doesn’t travel anymore, but he’s genuinely excited by my adventures. I know he’d get great joy in seeing something new from me on a regular basis. Invites are simple email invites, and the upload process is familiar to anyone who’s used photo sharing. CEIVA makes a handful of plug-ins and apps, too — you can share from Picasa or Facebook or directly from your phone. Heads up! This photo sharing isn’t free, it’s a subscription model. Depending on what, exactly, your purchase terms are, you may get the first year free, after that, you’ll need to pay for the service.

I wanted the operation of the frame itself to be a little easier. Navigation of the frame is by a little remote control — easy enough to use but the menu items aren’t entirely intuitive. (Also, heaven forbid you lose the remote, you’ll need to buy a replacement one.) It took me several tries to figure out how to delete the images I didn’t want to see. The frame has to be connected to receive updated images, meaning if you don’t have wifi, it has to be anchored to a phone line or network cable. Not a big deal, but it may add some restrictions to where you can place the frame. There are a lot of customization options — wired types will like that, but less computer literate folks are likely to experience some frustration.

There are a few things that this gadget allows you to do that I really liked. I like the idea of scheduled updates — you can send a “Happy Birthday” photo so it’s in rotation on your favorite uncle’s birthday. I like the support for lots of different sources — “Hey, I want to send my mom a picture of me in Paris right now!” Again, I love the way the images look, and the frame is attractive. I’m not totally sold on the usability, though. CEIVA offers extensive support, both on their website and via phone, so they’re clearly aware that some customers are going to have trouble.

My guess? Your wired family members are going to love this thing. I’m imagining it in the home of a friend who’s got very well traveled kids, or in the home of another friend who doesn’t travel much himself but has many traveler pals. Your less wired people may be a little flustered at first, but once they get it sussed, they’re going to enjoy it.

And, hey, here’s a thing that happened. I was chatting on the phone with my husband; he’d received my photo sharing request. I connected the CEIVA frame to the web, and then, I was looking at the view out his window. I was delighted.

CEIVA has a two different models, both currently include one year of picture sharing. You can get one from CEIVA directly, or check Amazon for prices.