D-Link is normally known for networking equipment like switches and routers. In fact, we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing their products in the past and found them to be of excellent quality. In the last few years though, their reportoire of product has expanded to include items like media servers, VOIP handsets, Internet cameras, network storage servers and recently, Digital Photo Frames. Although digital photo frames can seemingly be purchased anywhere (even at the grocery check out), D-Link thinks they can do it better. Today, we’ll be looking at D-Link’s DSM-210, a digital photo frame that combines a 10 inch screen, WiFi and 1GB of onboard memory.
Features and Specifications
It’s pretty easy to lump this product with so many other like products on the market. They all have a screen, they all have some memory onboard or the ability to take a memory card, and they all show your pictures. It’s what D-Link has done to tweak this frame that sets it apart.
D-Link has incorporated wireless (802.11g) and wired (10/100) internet capability into this frame to take advantage of a series of features that really make this more than just a 10 inch digital photo frame with a gigabyte of memory onboard. Once registered on their service called Framechannel, the frame can stream photos from your Facebook, Flickr and other services online. The frame can also stream news, RSS feeds of your choice, and the shared photos on your network.
If you’re Internet challenged, don’t worry. The frame still functions albeit in a more impaired state. You lose all of the above, but you can take advantage of the 1GB of memory onboard to store your photos. I know, it’s piddly in this day and age. That’s why D-Link lets you use either the memory card slot or a USB drive filled with your photos to supplement that.
All of this is wrapped around a 10 inch LCD screen that supports a 16:9 format at a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. If you’re into more techie specs, you can find a whole bunch of them right here.
What’s in the Box
In order to keep the product simple and accessible, the D-Link DSM-210 comes with a fairly simple bundle. Inside the box you get:
- DSM-210 Photo Frame
- Frame Stand
- Black and White Faceplates
- AC Power Adapter
- Remote Control
- Quick Setup Guide and Software CD
- Ethernet Cable
Overall, it’s really all you need to get going if you’ve got a wired or wireless network. If you have neither, well it sucks to be you. The only thing that’s really missing are a set of screws and wall anchors to allow you to hang the frame if you choose to.
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First Impressions
From the moment you pull the frame out of the box, you’ll notice that it has substance. It’s not flimsy or lightweight, ensuring that it stays where you put it. Features like the magnetic interchangeable bezels allow you to customize it somewhat to suit your decor. Somewhat meaning glossy black or glossy white.
The front of the frame incorporates touch sensitive controls for stopping and advancing the current slideshow. They are lit by a soft blue background glow that turns off during periods of inactivity.
A motion sensor mounted in the bottom right corner of the frame triggers the wake up call when the frame is in sleep mode; a green feature of this frame, besides the obvious lack of photo paper and poisonous inks.
Further adding to the customization is the ability for the frame to be presented horizontally or vertically simply by rotating the position of the included stand. If standing is not your thing, you can also wall mount it using brackets built right into the unit. The orientation of these brackets allow you to hang the frame horizontally or vertically so there is no loss in your mounting options either way.
On the right hand side of the back of the frame is where you find the memory card slot that supports SD, MMC and even Memory Stick. Below that is the USB port which offers a way to supersize the rather tiny 1GB of onboard memory.
The included remote control is small and compact. So small in fact that it might go missing and possibliy disappear in a couch somewhere. Since the remote control is important for accessing the settings of the frame, it would have been nice to have seen some sort of docking system for the remote to simply slip into the frame. Without the remote, you can’t access the menus in the frame.
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Setting Things Up
As far as setup goes, there really isn’t a whole lot to do. Just attach the stand or if you prefer, you can hang it on the wall. Once that’s done, you just need to plug it in and it’s live in a sans Internet sort of way. To really take advantage of what this frame has to offer, you should introduce it a connection to the Interwebs.
Once that’s all taken care of, you’ll be moving on to setting up the frame itself. Turning on the screen, you’ll be greeted with a number of options that include things to help you take advantage of external storage options, setting up your Internet connection, and setting up preferences for the frame itself. Keep in mind, you will need the remote control for the setup so make sure you don’t misplace it down the road. There are no buttons to replace it on the frame.
Connecting the frame to the web can be done either wired or wirelessly, but by default, it’s wireless. In order to switch to wired, you’ll need to change the setting and wire it. Once that’s done, the frame will automatically contact D-Link and search for any available firmware updates. Let it do its thing and reboot. You’re ready to roll.
The Framechannel Service
The thing that makes this Digital Frame special is the ability to hook it up to the web and connect it to all sorts of social media including your Flickr, Facebook and other services including RSS, News and Weather. This is all done using the third party Framechannel service that is supported by this frame. Because the Internet is your oyster, this makes the piddly amount of onboard memory somewhat forgivable because you’ll likely end up using it less and less as you start loading up your Flickr and Facebook accounts with albums and linking them through your Framechannel account.
Even if you don’t use Facebook or Flickr, you can take advantage of Framechannel’s own photo upload feature and upload photos to the frame from any web browser. This feature is particularly useful if you plan on giving this to someone that isn’t so tech saavy, but want to help them keep it updated. If you’re more tech saavy, you can even use it to access network shares on the network.
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Find More Digital Photo Frames Here
Screen Quality
If the screen sucked, then this product and the cool web features would go to waste. Afterall, it is a digital photo frame for showing…digital photos. So how is the screen really? Well, it’s actually really good. Viewing angles were generally decent unless you crank it way past 45 degrees. But if you’re staring across the room at it or walking by, the colors look vibrant and the general brightness of the screen in all conditions was excellent. It will do justice to your photos.
Although the frame looks like it’s good enough to display your videos as well, it doesn’t. The frame only displays photos in the JPG format when using the built in memory, memory slot, or on an external hard drive plugged into the USB port. However, with upgradeable firmware, you never know.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
So with only 1GB of memory onboard, surprisingly, the D-Link DSM-210 gets away with it. In fact, the lack of internal memory shouldn’t impede your enjoyment by any means. By allowing you to supplement internal storage with a USB drive, you get to overcome that impediment fairly easily. This is great for you crazies that never want to connect the frame to the Internet. If you do connect the frame up though, you’ll automatically have access to the limitless storage available on all your favourite picture upload sites and social media networks.
The screen quality is excellent and as observed, will definitely do justice to your pictures. A photo frame would suck if it didn’t have good photo quality. The only thing that would top this off would be the ability to playback video, but who knows with a firmware update down the road. I also particularly liked how snappy the interface was overall. However, since the interface can only be controlled by the included remote control; losing it means you won’t be able to operate the frame as there are no external buttons on the frame. If D-Link were to include some way to store or attach the remote to the frame after use, it would greatly reduce the chance of it going missing. Simply adding a small control pad would also be an option.
Overall, I found the ease of use and the online features quite enjoyable to use. Being able to pull photos directly off the web really makes the frame a pleasure to use. The only people that this product would not appeal to would be those crazies that don’t have Internet. But if you do have an Internet connection, lots of pictures on your Flickr or Facebook account, then this is a great digital photo frame for you.
Pros
- WiFi or Wireless Connectivity to the Web
- Full acccess to all your Flickr and Facebook photos and more
- Ability to supplement internal 1GB memory via USB or extra memory cards
- Motion sensor allows the frame to turn off when not in use, and turn on when people start gawking at it (saves power)
- Can be oriented vertically or horizontally
- Easy to use and setup
Cons
- For those non-Internet folks, 1GB of internal memory might not be enough (but you can supplement via USB).
- The remote control are the only controls, so if it breaks or goes missing, you’re out of luck
- You need an Internet connection to take full advantage of the best features
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Find More Digital Photo Frames Here
D-Link 10 Inch Wireless Internet Photo Frame Photo Gallery
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Find More Digital Photo Frames Here