The Price: $240

The Verdict: Works mostly as advertised, but at a price of $240, we expect a bit more polish to the unit.

The 10-inch display is roomy, but its 800x480 resolution looks somewhat pixelated when you get up close. Loading photos from its internal memory and USB slot (or SD slot) works just as well as you'd expect, which is nice. However, 1GB of built-in memory is pretty tiny for something that costs $240.

You can also stream photos from various online photo sharing networks, which works pretty well over its 802.11g connection or its 10/100 Ethernet port (you really want to use the Wi-Fi to make this truly wireless, but seeing as there's a mandatory AC adapter, that's pretty much an impossibility anyway).

One of the goofs we find is that the default setting on FrameChannel.com, the online utility you use to manage all your internet feeds, sets the default photos at a maximum of 5, so you only get 5 pics in your rotation at once. Easy enough to fix if you know where to look, but your parents would have to call you first. Again, for $240 we expect the kind of user interface that you can actually tweak settings on without having to use a separate computer.

Is it fairly solid? Yes. Would we recommend this to our parents? Probably not. We'll wait for the second-gen (or is it fifth-gen now) photo frames—something we can give to our parents and have them figure out themselves. [D-Link]

[Price Comparison]

D-LINK DEBUTS Wi-Fi INTERNET AND WIDGET CONTROLLED DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME

Frame Easily Managed Using Web or Drag and Drop Desktop Widget

LAS VEGAS, NV, Jan. 6, 2008 - D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, today announced future release of a digital photo frame that enables users to quickly and easily manage content displayed using a convenient website or with a drag and drop desktop widget.

The D-Link® Internet Photo Frame (DSM-210) is easily managed using an intuitive website (dlink.framechannel.com), where users can organize photos online for display as well as remotely stream content such as weather, news, trivia and more using popular Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds.

With built-in wired and wireless adapters, the DSM-210 also gives users the choice to simply drag and drop digital photos into photo frames using a "widget" located on the computer desktop, which then automatically displays the photos as a slide show on the photo frame. The widget also allows a user to remotely manage a frame over the Internet using the same drag and drop method, making it the perfect gift for someone who is a novice computer user, letting the giver of the frame remotely manage the photos and content displayed.

Unlike traditional digital photo frames, this next-generation photo frame is designed to enhance the home entertainment experience by allowing users to view their favorite photos easily and conveniently virtually anywhere in the home or over the Internet - providing a high-resolution 10" LCD display connected over a wired or wireless home network.

The DSM-210 features a 16 x 9 inch screen and includes an interchangeable black or white frame. It contains slots for USB and common memory cards, and can be networked via an Ethernet connection or Wi-Fi. The digital photo frame is widget compatible and can connect directly to the PC or via Internet options. With a rechargeable battery and premium content available, the frame comes with a one-year subscription for basic Internet content.
D-Link also plans to introduce custom skins, via a partnership with Skinit, to allow customers to personalize the outer portion frame to whatever color or pattern they choose.

Price and Availability
The D-Link DSM-210 is expected to be available in Q1, 2008 through D-Link's network of retail outlets, value-added resellers, solution providers and distributors, or at the company's online store, www.dlinkshop.com, for the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $249.99.