|
Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 810
|
|
This is actually an interesting discussion to me. I never thought I'd have so much to say about picture frames :lol:
The Pacific Digital frame will accept photos directly from a camera via the USB cable, so you don't need your computer if you choose to leave that out of the picture (no pun intended). The WiFi just adds value and flexibility.
You mention the idea of not needing to use a computer when supplying photos for a frame, but more often than not, people are going to use their computers in the process of transfering photos to a digital frame. Having a card slot in a picture frame would not ultimately or realistically eliminate the need for a computer. I say this because it boils down to how people function. When using a digital camera, I think it's safe to say that most people who purchase a card specifically for their camera aren't going to remove it with a bunch of photos, stuff it into a picture frame and then just leave it there - that would leave them without a card for their camera during general use. But on the other hand, I can't imagine anyone buying a card that they plan on using just for their frame, stuffing it into their camera, and then snapping a bunch of photos over the course of who knows how long during various activities, with the idea that every photo they take they'll want to use with their frame and put on display for all to see, without doing a bit of touch-up or filtering and archiving on the computer first.
I don't believe that's how people do things or how people use these frames. People who buy these frames clearly want variety, which means that they'll be changing the photos from time to time. Also, keep in mind that when people take photos, not every photo they take is going to be a winner, interesting, something they'll want staring them in the face everyday, or something they'll want on public display as it sits on a desk or hangs on a wall. Some photos they'll want to keep and archive but won't want to delete, but also won't want on the frame for whatever reason. To expect someone to fill a memory card with nothing but beautiful, respectable, interesting photos that they can just quickly pop out of a camera and immediately stuff into a frame is just plain unrealistic. And what would happen when later on, someone wanted to remove some of the photos on the card because they were tired of viewing some of them, but once again, desired to archive, not just delete them? How would someone deal with all of these things without a computer? No, I believe that people will take their cameras, snap some photos, go to their computer, optimize or touch up the photos a bit, decide which ones they want for public display on the frame, archive the rest, and then transfer the ones they want to another card that they purchased specifically for use in the frame.
Also, consider the following...
A computer is a very personal and private device - meaning that you don't show people everything you have stored on it. But a picture frame is designed as a public display device - it's going to sit on your desk or hang on your wall and it's going to cycle the same group of photos over and over all day and all night (unless you shut it off somehow), not just for your pleasure, but for others to see as well. For this reason, and for the reasons I mentioned in the previous paragraph, someone will want to take great care in preparing their photos for viewing on a showcase device like this, especially a device that they just spent a bunch of money on and that only does one thing and purely for pleasure. For these reasons, I don't believe these frames are designed to be independent of computers - I believe a computer is absolutely part of the process of preparing photos for display on a frame, regardless of how it was designed. Not to mention, with some (or perhaps all) of them, how are you going to set effects and special transitions without a computer? How are you going to arrange the photos so they play in the order you want, without a computer?
I don't believe these are marketed to non-techies. How many non-techies do you know with these things? A digital picture frame is a total luxury and probably one of the last things anyone would buy - the icing on the cake for the person with everything, after every other gadget has been purchased. No one is going to spend hundreds of dollars toward the purchase of something of this nature before they've spent that money toward the purchase of a computer. Besides, someone who buys one of these things will need a digital camera, and anyone with a digital camera is going to need a computer. Non-techies stick to a standard film print in a normal plastic or wooden frame like you see on virtually every desk and wall in the world.
Digital frames are designed for dedicated use - to cycle through a set of photos all day, over and over for personal pleasure and for public display, which meets a completely different need, serves a completely different purpose, and functions and runs slideshows in a different manner than a computer or an HDTV. Not to mention, a picture frame can operate indefinitely without taking away from what someone wants or is trying to do on a computer or TV. Based on this, I don't think the inherent design and function of a digital picture frame can anymore support the idea that it's marketed primarily to non-techies anymore than it can support the idea that techies would shy away from it.
People don't buy these frames to take from place to place to use as a portable slideshow for showing off photos. A person could, providing it ran on batteries, but these frames are designed to be stationary, not mobile. Once again, they're designed to sit on a desk or hang on a wall and not move. And once again, no one is going to purchase one of these before buying a computer. Anyone who buys one of these will not only have a computer, but is also serious about their photos and wants to show them off in a unique way, which means they're going to take greater care in preparing them before transferring them into one of these frames - this being properly accomplished only with a computer. With these things in mind, how far would a device like this ever realistically be from computer resources? Probably not very far - it's going to be sitting on a desk which would be right next to a computer, or on a wall in someone's home or office which would also be near computer resources. It's not as though this frame would be miles from a computer and the owner would have an urgent need to add photos, but now with no way to do so. Even if a frame that required a computer to change photos, were away from a computer, how hard would it be to transport it back to a computer, change the photos, and then put the frame back where it was? No one's going to be lugging this thing around all over, anyway. And although someone would change photos from time to time, they certainly would not be changing photos everyday. So this is hardly a burden and it doesn't reduce value.
To be honest, I'd like to see a memory card slot in the Pacific Digital picture frame which would give it even more flexibility, but from what I can see, it offers the best balance of quality, features, flexibility, customization, and price than any other frame I've seen out there.
I'm a techie, and I'd love to own a frame. 
|
Threaded Mode