A new Digital Frame product will let users view pictures on phones. The usual way to get photos to a digital frame is to copy them to a memory card, then walk over to the frame and insert the card in a slot. Computer geeks call this “Sneakernet,” because the information travels as fast as your shoes. You can do this with the Cameo. The cool thing is that it also has a built-in cellular modem, which talks to T-Mobiles wireless network. It even has its own phone number.

That means you can snap a picture on your camera phone, then send it as a picture message straight to the frame. This works, or at least should work, even if youre in Hawaii and the frame is in New Jersey. You can also send pictures to other peoples frames, if theyve told the frame to allow that.

Though its the first frame sold in the U.S. that has a cellular modem, it isnt exactly the first one that can receive pictures straight from phones. Some others can connect to the Internet, usually through Wi-Fi. Once connected to your home wireless network, they can receive pictures via e-mail. And many phones can send e-mail with attached pictures.

I also tested one of these Wi-Fi-enabled frames, the $160 CeivaLife from Ceiva Logic Inc. The Cameo was much easier to use. You can feel comfortable sending it off as a present to people who dont use the Internet and dont have a computer. All they need to do is plug it in to a power outlet. They can hang it on the wall or stand it on a table in landscape (wide) or portrait (tall) orientation. The frame figures out which is which and displays the pictures correctly. Then you can send them pictures of the grandkids straight from the phone. As a bonus, the frame has an e-mail address as well, so you can send pictures from a computer.

Despite the convenience, the frame isnt expensive, at least if you look at the upfront cost. At $100, its cheaper than most photo frames with comparable screens: a 7-inch diagonal and a resolution of 720 by 480 pixels. A lot of frames with those dimensions cost $160, and thats without any connection options expect for Sneakernet.

So lets tackle the downsides, and see how far they tip the scale the other way.

First of all, the cellular connection costs $10 per month. Its billed through T-Mobile, and you need a monthly voice plan with the company to buy the frame (for this reason, the frames will be sold only in T-Mobiles stores). If youre buying the frame for other people, the monthly charge will still show up on your bill, unless your gift recipients are T-Mobile customers, in which case they can transfer the charge to their own bills.

But dont be too discouraged by this monthly fee: it costs almost as much – $100 per year – to keep the rival CeivaLife connected to the Internet, and that appears to be typical for Wi-Fi frames.

On the other hand, if you tire of T-Mobile and want to jump to another carrier, poof goes the Cameos wireless connection. You can still supply it with new images from the memory card slot.

Then theres the issue of figuring out whether the network has coverage where you want to use the frame. This should be a problem only for a small number of users. The frame doesnt use a sophisticated data network, so anywhere you have voice coverage on T-Mobile should work. But it wont work where your T-Mobile phone roams on another network. If you cant test coverage with a T-Mobile phone before buying, the best way to tackle this will be to buy the frame, then return it if it doesnt work.

Lastly, I had problems sending photos to the frame wirelessly.

The frame had no problem receiving pictures sent from phones on other U.S. carriers – I tested AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. Surprisingly, it initially wouldnt take pictures from T-Mobiles flagship phone, the brand-new G1, or “Google phone.” Also, some photos sent by e-mail to the frame disappeared, or were rejected because they were too big.

According to Parrot SA, the French manufacturer that supplied me with the frame, these problems are not with the frame, but come from the way T-Mobiles network converts the pictures before sending them to the frame, and should be fixable. The problem with the G1 went away after I pointed it out.

Provided the remaining transmission problems are straightened out, the Cameo is a fine product, and should be the top choice if youre a T-Mobile customer shopping for a digital frame. Next year, well probably see similar products from other carriers.

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Source: iades