Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Kodak Pulse Digital Photo Frame Reviewed by Family Tech Support

Digital picture frames have been on the market for years and come down considerably in price. Despite it being a one trick pony no one's really gotten it right over all these years. Kodak finally stepped in with the Pulse and hit a home run: Easy to set up and I can load pictures and administer all the settings online.

In all it's a little bit more expensive than some of it's peers. If you're not planning on using the remote features then I wouldn't spend the extra money. But if you're the one saddled with tech support for your family the Kodak Pulse is worth it's weight in gold.


Pro's:

  • Good picture quality.
  • Respectable size.
  • Add pictures remotely via email, Facebook.com or KodakGallery.com.
  • Remote administration of all the settings.
  • Easy to get online.
  • Intuitive touch screen interface.
  • Supports friends albumns from KodakGallery.com
  • My parents don't have to do a thing.


Con's:

  • Error message during setup was vague.
  • Would have liked to see a more traditional frame style or interchangeable frames.
  • On screen keyboard was alphabetical instead of QWERTY; awkward.
  • Doesn't support Event Albums from KodakGallery.com.
  • No other 3rd party integration (Flicker, Picasa, SmugMug, etc).
  • Touch screen is a magnet for little, dirty fingers.



My siblings and I have been debating getting a digital photo frame for my parents for some time. I kept vetoing the idea because I hated the thought of another piece of tech I'd have to "take a look at" next time I'm over for a visit. As the family's resident tech support, Kodak's Pulse was worth the wait.

My mom was excited when she opened her Mother's Day gift: a 7 inch Kodak Pulse digital picture frame. Maybe it was the idea of all those pictures on display? Or maybe she thought it was an iPad? At some point the excitement turned to dread as she realized she'd have to somehow get pictures onto this thing. Or, like many of her friends, years later she'd only have the first set of pictures we loaded on the device.

Kodak got it right with the Pulse. Set up was easy (with one exception below). Adding photos to it is a breeze. Changing the settings is a snap. And my most favorite feature: I can do it all remotely from my house.

The initial setup asks if it's for you or is a gift. If setting it up as a gift you're given the option of activating it and designating an administrator. The Pulse connects directly to the internet over a local wifi connection. It's self contained so no software to load on any computer. Although you'll have to register your device and set up an account on KodakPulse.com [Link] to use the remote features.

I did run into one snag during setup: it (apparently) connected to the internet fine but was unable to connect to the Pulse service. The error message was vague and it took me a long time to find the fix. You need to update the firmware before connecting to the Pulse service; annoying that it didn't connect out of the box. Figuring this out and resolving the problem was by far the longest part of the setup. Once over that hump the rest was a breeze.

It's worth registering on the Pulse website even if you're the owner. A few additional features and settings were available online that I couldn't find in the frame's settings. For example, the energy saving feature of scheduling the frame to automatically turn on and off.

The Kodak Pulse website is also where you configure albums from KodakGallery.com to display on the frame. Instead of hoping back and forth between KodakGallery.com (where I keep a lot of albums I share with the family) and KodakPulse.com I simply created a single, album dedicated to the frame on KodakGallery.com. I update this with individual photos as events occur; opting for the "best of" from each event.

In all my mom and dad loved the gift. The picture quality is great and they can get new pictures sent to them without the hassle of the computer or checking email. And I know I love that I can "fix" most problems that may arise over the phone. Not to mention being able to load new pictures on the device from my house is the biggest bonus of all.

The Kodak Pulse is one piece of tech I was excited to give as a gift.

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