So, in that sense you are getting more out of your phone while it charges—you can set up a slideshow or set a mood with the two apps suggested by the manufacturer: "Art" and the "Ambient Channel". Plus it's only $20, which is significantly cheaper than buying a dedicated digital photo frame. Yeah, maybe it's not such a bad idea after all—that is until someone calls you while the phone is in the frame. [Appstand via Gadget Lab]

It looks like it'll be Japan only for now, but expect about a $400 price tag if it ever makes its way over here. I'm not even sure Mr. Spacely could drop that much on a picture frame, though. [Sanyo via Akihabara]

Smartparts Announces World’s Largest WiFi Enabled Digital Picture

The 32 Inch SP3200WF Can Receive Images from Windows Live Photo Gallery and Display Customized RSS

COLOGNE, Germany—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Smartparts, Inc., a leading manufacturer and innovator driving the explosive digital picture frame market, today unveiled the world’s largest WiFi digital picture frame, the 32 inch SP3200WF. The most recent addition to Smartparts’ new family of wireless digital picture frames, the SP3200WF is fully compatible with Windows Live Photo Gallery and will undoubtedly be the center of attention wherever it’s displayed.

Smartparts recently became a certified Microsoft partner and the new SP3200WF is among Smartparts’ first frames to integrate with Windows Live Photo Gallery. Microsoft’s Windows Live Photo Gallery application makes it easy for consumers to share and view photos online or directly on their wireless SP3200WF digital picture frame.

Adding to the ease-of-use provided by the SP3200WF is a simplified set up process that allows consumers to pair the frame to their wireless network. The SP3200WF can automatically recognize and connect to a wireless router, without the need to manually enter one’s wireless encryption key.

Included with the SP3200WF, is Smartparts’ exclusive OptiPix Pro software, which is designed to help consumers locate, optimize and wirelessly transfer pictures to their frame from their computer. Furthermore, OptiPix Pro will not alter consumers’ original photos, it first creates copies which are then optimized and transferred to the frame, leaving the original, untouched photo residing on the computer.

Additional Features:

- Resolution of 1366x768, 16:9 widescreen

- Natural wood frame with espresso finish and museum quality beige mat

- Can play video with sound (Motion JPEG AVI and WMA)

- Supports SD, MS, and Compact Flash memory cards

- RF remote control with 100ft operating range

- Can display PowerPoint slides, PDF files, and most picture and graphic files (ideal for business or retail applications)

The RSS headlines can be overlaid on the photos, as can a clock. As you can see above, Sony has eschewed tacky photo frame styling for a sleek, minimal look, which makes the somewhat steep price tag hurt a bit less. The network, RSS and audio streaming are welcome additions to normal frame fare, but as the sole widgets on this $300 frame, they are as much reminders that this apparently capable hardware is being underutilized as they are useful features. The CP1 will be available at Sony Style stores and online sometime in mid-October. Full press release below. [Sony]

DENVER (CEDIA Booth #600), Sept. 3, 2008 ⎯ Sony today unveiled the wireless VAIO® CP1 Wi-Fi photo frame, making it easier than ever to share digital images as well as receive news and stream Internet radio in real-time.

Utilizing built-in Wi-Fi technology, the CP1 model lets you stream photos from a VAIO PC directly to the device. Featuring more than 16 million colors and 800x480 resolution, photos locked away on your PC will now come to life on the photo frame’s brilliant 7-inch LCD screen.

In addition to streaming images from a VAIO PC, the CP1 model can also connect to Google™ Picasa™ web albums. This enables you to view up to four web albums simultaneously, as well as upload photos directly to a Picasa account.

“How many times have you uploaded images to our PC— vowing to share them— never to see them again,” said Xavier Lauwaert, product manager for VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. “This new frame provides an easy way to retrieve and share these precious memories that otherwise would have been forgotten.”

In addition to its ability to wirelessly access photos, the CP1 model can display images from compatible Memory Stick® media, SD cards or digital still cameras providing instant access to your latest shots. It is also CompactFlash® media card-compatible, making it convenient for those who use a digital SLR camera.

And with 128MB internal storage, up to 100 digital images can be saved directly to the new photo frame for viewing anytime.

Keeping your images and slideshows organized is easy as well. Content is grouped into sections called “frames,” making it easy to enjoy photos, information and music. You can choose from Slideshow— for movie-like presentations, Flow— which creates a slideshow with fun, special-effects, and Dissolve— a more traditional view that fades images into one another.

It also has an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader built-in, which enables it to grab news headlines and entertainment content from the Internet and display it along with your slideshows. Operating in real-time, the RSS function provides you up-to-the-minute information.

The new CP1 model also features built-in stereo speakers and an Internet radio player for enriching slideshows with your favorite style of music.

Other features include a digital/analog clock and the ability to save energy by dimming the screen automatically when a room’s lights are turned off.

The VAIO CP1 digital photo frames will retail for about $300. They will be available at Sony Style® stores and online at HYPERLINK "http://www.sonystyle.com/cp1" www.sonystyle.com/pr/cp1 starting in mid-October.

I will admit it's kind of cool watching the printer add layers of dye sublimation to add build one full picture, but the novelty quickly wears off. It takes about a minute to print, and it's instantly touchable. But the photos suck. This is a pre-production model, so it could get better, but the sample I printed removed all subtlety from the photo—shadow detail lost, whites blown out and noticeable bleed.

The paper stock is mediocre and you can't even upgrade—you buy proprietary cartridges for $20 that have 36 sheets, with dye cartridge to match. Then you've gotta buy a new one. The printer, as you can imagine, adds a little lot of heft. This hunchbacked mess is not the digital photo frame you were looking for. [Giz @ PMA]

• Setup is relatively simple, and requires a download of a configuration application. All went smoothly when Wi-Fi reception was possible.

• Its Wi-Fi receiver still isn't strong enough. Even though it could pick up our powerful Wi-Fi network in some areas of our Midwest Test Facility, it couldn't in others, even when sitting in locations where other Wi-Fi devices were able to receive the signal with ease.

• It receives photos via an email address, which is a real kick. It works, too, and the pictures look especially good in the eStarling's 800x600 display. It claims to be the only picture frame to which you can directly email photos, no registration required. Go ahead, surprise us with your best photos—email them to tempamatica AT seeframe.com.

• The eStarling also receives RSS feeds from Flickr, Picasa, AOL, Smugmug, Photobucket or any other RSS feed. That also works quite well.

• The 8" frame looks pretty swank. It has a shiny black finish, although there was an annoying piece of lint pressed between its clear plastic front and the LCD display on our demo unit.

• We like the way the frame's display has a 4x3 aspect ratio, which fits most of the pictures we take around here. No black bars on the top or bottom, or on the sides, either. Nice.

• At $249.95, it's more expensive than most 8-inch picture frames, but with its Wi-Fi capabilities, email accessibility and sharp resolution, it's worth it. [eStarling]

Once recorded, the ball will play your message every time you press one of the pictures or turn the whole gadget. It retails for $15 dollars at Brookestone and acts as an especially good reminder of how your family and friends have wronged you. [ChipChick via Brookstone]

Of course, this wouldn't be a product for true gadget aficionados, just an idea for a little gift that you might give Grandma after you've slipped in a few pictures of you and the kids, complete with a little spiel from each one of you. She'll love it. You won't. – Charlie White

The Talking Photo Frame [The Uber Review]

A Magnetic PHoto Frame That Keeps Your Pictures Floating [Coolest-Gadgets]

Here's why you should care, numb skull: Most photo frames these days are big on bells and whistles, but the LCDs look like ass. Color accuracy is important for video, but when it comes to still images, if the color ain't right, grandma's tan is going to make skin look the hue of Tang. Not pretty. This is an update of their last 7-inch frame, and its cheaper at $199, holds about 50% more photos, and has interchangeable borders, like the striking red you see above.

Philips LCDs aren't the biggest, and unlike others, they don't have WiFi. But this 7-inch model is bright, at 200 nits, which is less than a big old computer LCD, but it still holds up in daylight. The LCD runs at 800 by 480, which is a pretty tight res for such a small screen. And what else can I say about it? The shit looks good.

Read on for the gallery, info on the luscious borders, brilliant features, and a bug or two...

It comes with 4 different borders that click into its plexiglass frame. The colors? Red, White, Silver, and Black. It reads SD and CF memory cards, or can be accessed as a mass storage device by PC, so you can load photos direct by wire. The frame copies photos to its internal memory, resizing them to its native res first, so the frame can hold up to 150 images. Some problems? Some portrait photos I uploaded didn't rotate properly, and the slideshow tech are kind. A really smart feature is that the frame has about 45 minutes of battery life, so you can unplug it, and pass it around to friends and family without it dropping dead. And speaking of power, there's a timer that'll shut the LCD off at certain times of day, so you're not wasting juice. Also, its pretty efficient, soaking up only 12 watts.

In a sentence, it's pretty, the screen is gorgeous, although it lacks the features of other net enabled photo frames.–Brian Lam

Philips [Philips]

Product Page [Photo Vu via Red Ferret]

Westinghouse's new DPF-0701 photo frame can not only display your community college graduation picture, it can simultaneously show your kid's first step and your wedding pictures as well. The "MosaicView" enabled frame has 16MB of memory, which holds around 200 photos.

Not only does this show pics, it can support Motion JPEG, MPEG1 and MPEG4 as well. It measures 7 inches and ships in July for $199. – Jason Chen