• PC World
• » Cameras

Sit Back and Enjoy the Show

Once the frame is set up, it will automatically begin cycling through ten stock photos stored in its 1MB of flash memory, changing each image every 5 seconds. After you establish an account with Ceiva's online service, you'll be able to upload your own images for delivery to the frame. The frame's built-in 33.6-kbps modem automatically dials in to the Ceiva Web site, and then downloads up to ten fresh pictures from your account. If you live in an area where Ceiva offers local access numbers, the service costs $2.99 per month; if not, it's $7.99 per month for the frame to dial in via an 800 number. (You can check the list of local access numbers on Ceiva's Web site.) Others--regardless of whether they have a Ceiva frame--can send photos directly to your Ceiva Web account, at no extra charge.

All Ceiva frame maintenance and configuration is handled through the easy-to-use Web service. As the account holder, you can create a buddy list and select which Ceiva "buddy" frames are authorized to view your photos, and which set of photos is to be streamed to which Ceiva frames. Through the Web service, you can create albums and schedule them for display on different Ceiva frames on your buddy list. Or, you can set the albums to rotate, thereby providing fresh content to a specific Ceiva frame each day. You can also add captions and descriptions to your photos, giving the viewer context they otherwise might not have.

In its default mode, the Ceiva frame continuously displays photos until midnight, at which time it automatically shuts down to help prolong the LCD life expectancy--which the company claims is about five years, even though it warranties the device for only 90 days. The frame resumes displaying photos at 4:00 a.m. You can customize the display times only through the master account on the Web site, which lets you choose such settings as how often the frame will dial in to update and how long the images will display on screen as they cycle. Images can be displayed for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 hours, though you can't vary the display time for each individual picture.

The Ceiva frame's image quality proves decent, but only when the frame is positioned for viewing head-on. That's because its LCD has a relatively narrow field of view; even at a gentle angle, images are obscured. Images are quite visible in daylight as well as in darkness, with strong and saturated colors, but the frame lacks a contrast control.

Piecemeal Pictures

One annoying drawback to the Ceiva service is that uploading images over a 33.6-kbps connection can be time-consuming, and the service lets you upload only one image at a time. (The company says it plans to add the ability to simultaneously upload multiple images in the future.) Updates can take anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes, depending upon whether the frame's display settings are being refreshed and how many photos are being uploaded.

While Ceiva Logic's Ceiva is not a new concept--Sony Electronics' $899 CyberFrame PHD-A55 is a digital LCD frame that displays images and videos stored on Sony's Memory Stick media--its price and ease of use certainly make it one of the most consumer friendly solutions to date. The Ceiva frame is a noble effort that affordably revolutionizes image sharing without all the hassles of high technology. Better yet, it's a no-maintenance, trouble-free gadget that will entertain and delight.