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Executive Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,471
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Framed in Bluetooth: The Parrot Photo Viewer Reviewed
Product Category: Digital Photo Frame
Manufacturer: Parrot
Where to Buy: Various Online Retailers
Price: $169.99 USD
System Requirements: A Bluetooth device for sending pictures to the frame.
Specifications: Provided Below
Pros- Very easy to use;
- Pictures transfer quickly;
- Uses Bluetooth instead of a cable;
- Doesn't require a PC;
Cons- Contrast is a bit weak and brightness is a bit dim;
- Display is only 320 x 234
Summary
Parrot is a company known for its Bluetooth accessories. Can a company that makes interesting hands free kits produce a product that will convince people to do more with their digital photos than leave them locked up in a computer or camera phone?
Read on for the full review!
Detailed Specs.
Direct from Parrot's website:- High-resolution LCD TFT screen with 320 x 234 pixels
- 262,144 colour display
- Effective LCD size: 3.5 inches
- Built-in light sensor
- Compatible image format: JPEG (700 K to 7 M pixels)
- 32 MB internal memory for storing over 100 photos
- Portrait or landscape position sensor
- Automatic image resizing
- Menus: Slideshow, Picture, Delete, Reposition, Language
- Fitting: free-standing or wall-mounted
- Power lead
- Frame: white-leaded oak or leather (depending on model)
Bluetooth- Built-in Bluetooth receiver
- Bluetooth version 1.2
- Bluetooth profiles supported: FTP, OPP and BIP
- Receives pictures from up to 10 metres away
- Pairing: not required with this product
- Software updates by Bluetooth
Dimensions and Weight
- Width: 8.6 cm
- Height: 10.6 cm
- Depth: 1.5 cm
- Weight: 260 g (not incl. frame)
Processor- ARM 9 + 64 MB SDRAM
- Storage memory: 32 MB NAND Flash
What's in the box?- The frame itself.
- A power adapter.
- A metal rod that gets screwed in the back of the frame for desk/table displaying.
- A wall bracket.
- A user guide.
- A Parrot product guide.
First Impressions
I was sitting at my desk and the General Manager of my company plopped down the Parrot Photo Viewer in front of me. He told me he would be coming back later to discuss it with me, and he wanted to know what I thought. Being the local uber geek in my office and the understood digital media guru, things like this happen to me all the time. My first reaction was, "Parrot? Who wants a photoframe from them?" I opened the box and I was pleasantly surprised with what was inside.
Figure 1: The grand unveiling. Parrot did do a very nice job with the packaging.
Sitting, nestled all snug inside was the "Brown Salamander" version of a digital photo frame. It's hard to describe the pattern, but it slightly resembles snakeskin and despite its leathery appearance, it's not soft. A run of stitching around the outer edge of the frame really does set off the rest. Overall, it looks like it could be in a nice room and blend.
Figure 2: A close up of the texture of the Parrot Photo Viewer.
That being said, there are some weird design choices that were made. For example, the cable that carries power to the unit (no batteries here, folks) is bright iPod white. On it is a slight bulge with a power button. Considering the dark and elegant design of the frame itself, the white power cable and adapter seems out of place and is aesthetically a poor design choice.
Figure 3: The power button is the model of simplicity.
It's possible to tuck the power cable away neatly if you're using the Photo Viewer on a desk, but if you're hanging it on a wall, it's something you should be aware of.
How Well Does It Work?
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. I figured this was just another gimmick and another company's entrance into the world of convergence. I was pleasantly surprised when my Bluetooth desktop PC was able to detect the Photo Viewer immediately and transferred an 8 megapixel picture in a few seconds. While the version of Bluetooth the frame supports is only 1.2, the speed is more than acceptable. The Photo Viewer gives you a real time representation of the picture being sent to the frame and the photo is drawn line by line as the picture is transferred.
Overall, it's quick and painless.
From my BlackBerry Pearl, things were only slightly more complex. Instead of just being able to send without pairing, I did have to pair my phone to the Photo Viewer. As soon as I did, the photos were flying over immediately. The take away, though, is that your results will vary with your phone and how much your carrier locks down things like Bluetooth file transfer. We were still able to transfer from all the phones we tried with it (Including a BlackBerry Pearl, Motorola Razrs, a Samsung Trace, and a SonyEricsson K750), so I wouldn' t call this too big a bug, just something you should know about.
Either way, Parrot earns themselves a big pat on the back for ease of use. I was expecting the software to be balky and glitchy, and instead found it to be nearly transparent to use; the hiccups, glitches, and weirdness were all to be blamed on the phone manufacturers themselves, not the frame.
Navigating the menu system is as simple as using the three buttons on the rear of the unit. There's a left arrow, a right arrow, and a center action button. To bring up the menu, press the center button, and then you can navigate through the options using the left and right arrow buttons.
Figure 4: The buttons on the back of the Parrot Photo Viewer.
Figure 5: The menus of the Parrot Photo Viewer.
The menus are logically arranged and the icons make sense for their function. You can rotate the picture left or right, set up your slideshow, delete a picture, undelete a picture (handy if you goof!)
How Will My Photos Look?
Again, this is an area where Parrot exceeded my expectations. The specs for the screen are relatively low. It only displays 262,144 colors and has a maximum resolution of 320 x 234 which is actually lower than the resolution on many Windows Mobile handhelds.
Figure 6: Picture quality was good, brightness wasn't the best although passable, and contrast could've been better but it was still good.
Despite this, the pixelation isn't terrible, and the screen's brightness is adequate for display even in a well lit room. I would've been happier with a hair more contrast, but that might just be a personal preference on my part. Overall, it's not "knock your socks off" good, but it's definitely good enough for displaying a few snapshots in a slideshow. I would have liked a glossy screen similar to the ones in newer laptops seeing as those types of screens enhance contrast in general.
Parrot also makes a 7" version with a 720 x 480 screen, which might be more to your liking if you intend on using it for more than just camera phone snapshots.
The Final Word
I was prepared to be unimpressed, and was pleasantly surprised. I had no trouble with other phones and my Bluetooth desktop PC. Even though I only had the 3.5" version, I could see myself using something like this in the future. It was easy, the pictures looked good, and everything worked as advertised. In reality, there aren't a whole lot of tech products out there that can stake that claim.
I'd definitely recommend trying to get a demonstration of it before buying just to make sure the screen looks good enough for you and the size is right. If not, consider the 7" model which has much more memory and a screen that's more than twice the resolution.
Vincent M. Ferrari is a blogger, photographer wannabe, digital media junkie, and Apple fanboy from the Bronx, New York. His most famous accomplishment is canceling his AOL account which got him an inordinate amount of fame, something he still brags about to all his friends. When he's not taking down multi-billion dollar corporations, he's writing on his own blog, taking photos, and working as a Producer for the iLifeZone podcast.
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