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- Wi-Fi
- Extensive memory card and file format support
- Web-enabled features
- Complicated Wi-Fi setup
- Counter-intuitive touch-screen navigation
- Overly complex menu system
- Bland design and build quality
Kodak's EasyShare W820 is an 8-inch frame that offers Wi-Fi connectivity, the ability to display RSS feeds and lift photos from web-based photo-sharing services, and a large array of display options. It also has 512 MB of internal memory and supports virtually all memory-card formats and several audio and video file formats. Although universally impressed by this advanced list of features, reviewers hone in on the one aspect of the Kodak W820 digital photo frame that is less than stellar: performance. The touch-screen display icons are unintuitive and widely described as difficult to use, as is the complex, nested menu system. Many of the services Kodak's frame supports require logging into and setting up auxiliary services, which are also pegged as overly complicated. One of the frame's biggest draws, its Wi-Fi capability, comes with a setup that is so frustrating and difficult that more than one expert indicates that it just wouldn't be worth it for anyone who isn't highly skilled in wireless technology.
Once through their intimidating recitation of the W820's shortcomings, however, reviewers concede that most of the digital frame's frustrations can be found in the initial setup, which only needs to be done once. When it's done, the frame performs very well and has a lovely display. For an alternative Wi-Fi frame with simpler setup and navigation options, critics look to the Ipevo Kaleido R7 (*Est. $150). However, the R7 also includes a steep price tag and doesn't have support for audio and video files, or the assortment of web-enabled features found on the Kodak W820.
To get the most out of reviews on the EasyShare W820, it's necessary to also consider evaluations of the frame's near identical sibling, the 10-inch W1020. The most thorough and detailed coverage comes from DigitalPictureFrameReview.com, which evaluates the W820 and includes photos of the frame's design and operation. PCMag.com and CNET, which cover the W820 and W1020, respectively, also turn in balanced and thorough analyses of the frames. Reviews from TrustedReviews.com, ComputerShopper.com and PC World are also helpful.
IPEVO CSFU-01IP Kaleido R7 Wireless Photo Frame
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Our Sources
1. DigitalPictureFrameReview.com
This outstanding review provides an exhaustively complete analysis of every aspect of the Kodak EasyShare W820, from aesthetics to ease of use to display quality. Photographs detail all angles and uses of the frame, and there is some comparison to Samsung frames that the site recently reviewed.
Review: Review: Kodak EasyShare W820 Digital Picture Frame, "MKowalski", Nov. 24, 2008
PCMag.com's Zach Honig is not impressed by the Kodak W820, and he offers a great deal of commentary on alternative options from manufacturers such as Pandigital, Sony and eStarling. In spite of his obvious skepticism of the W820, Honig delivers a balanced and fair assessment of the frame.
Review: Kodak EasyShare W820 Wireless Digital Frame, Zach Honig, Dec. 8, 2008
3. CNET
CNET's large database of digital frame reviews and standard ratings system help lend its assessment of the Kodak W1020 greater comparative value than is embedded in the article -- which is to say that the review contains little comparison. And while CNET's evaluation doesn't touch on incidentals such as the wireless setup process, it does provide a good description of display quality and performance glitches.
Review: Kodak EasyShare W1020 Wireless Digital Frame, David Carnoy, Dec. 15, 2008
Supplemented with photographs and a three-minute video overview, TrustedReviews.com's write-up touches on build quality, display specifications, features and display quality. More descriptive than evaluative, this coverage of the W1020 is a good place to learn what the frame's technology is capable of, but look elsewhere to find how it actually performs.
Review: Kodak EasyShare W1020 Digital Picture Frame Review, Edward Chester, Feb. 14, 2009
Matt Safford's concise review provides a quick description of what Kodak says its EasyShare W1020 frame can do and then delves into where it falls short. Safford writes from the position that a digital frame should be a "set it and forget it" device, and his conclusion is communicated clearly.
Review: Kodak EasyShare W1020 Digital Picture Frame, Matt Safford, Feb. 2009
This PC World analysis of the EasyShare W1020 is in keeping with Kathleen Cullen's signature brevity, but unlike her other reviews, it is also lacking in detail and reads more like an evaluation of manufacturer specifications than findings resulting from hands-on use.
Review: Kodak EasyShare W1020, Kathleen Cullen, June 4, 2009
Digital Picture Frames Runners Up:
4 picks including: PC World, CrunchGear.com…
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IPEVO CSFU-01IP Kaleido R7 Wireless Photo Frame
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