Kensington Digital Photo Album

Amazon.com Product Description
The Kensington Digital Photo Album is a system for remotely displaying digital photos on a continual basis. The album, which is the size and shape of a desktop picture frame, stores 12 images in a variety of formats for display at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and cycles through them at a user-selected speed. Unlike other digital picture frames, the Kensington photo album does not use a subscription-based system to upload images. To get the images into the album, you must transfer the photos from a computer via the USB port. The included Album Manager software installs on your computer and allows you to drag and drop images for display on the digital photo album. The software also lets you crop, rotate, and set the orientation of a picture, as well as set the display time. An assortment of controls on the frame let you adjust contrast, play, sleep, stop, and show the previous or next picture.

Like a number of other digital frame offerings, there is a complementary online service. However, Kensington's online service is a bit different. Instead of including a modem, and charging a subscription fee, Kensington's offering is a free service that lets you share your photos with anyone you like. Uploading is accomplished using the Album Manager software. You can upload different sets of images and mark them as public or private, and let only the people you want view your photos. Anyone who wants to view your photos then downloads them and transfers them to their Kensington Digital Photo Frame via USB.

Product Description:
Now digital photos can be easily displayed anywhere, all the time, with the Digital Photo Album from Kensington. It's the ideal complement to a digital camera, scanner, or picture CD. Simply load the Digital Photo Album through the USB port with images from the computer (built-in memory stores up to 12 images/24 in Plus model) detach the unit from the computer, connect to any AC power supply, and display them one at a time or as a slide show. With no memory card required and no service fees, it's the all-in-one digital frame solution from Kensington. Make an impressive, customizable slide show or desktop keepsake in minutes. Album Manager software is included for quickly editing and loading images from the computer to the Digital Photo Album.

Kensington Digital Photo Album
Average customer rating:

XP - Where's the upgrade?

Thumbs down on quality...

Decent Frame for the money

Kensington Digital Photo Album

Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

Digital Frames | Accessories | Camera & Photo | Categories | Electronics
All Monitors | Monitors & Projectors | Computer Add-Ons | Computers & Add-Ons | Categories | Electronics
Kensington | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics
Electronics Available for International Shipping | Specialty Stores | Electronics Features | Electronics
Product Features:

Modern metallic silver frame

320 x 240 color LCD screen

Can display JPEG, TIF, and bitmap files

Album Manager software eases photo transfers

5.7-inch diagonal viewable screen area

ASIN: B000053HMQ

Product Description

Now digital photos can be easily displayed anywhere, all the time, with the Digital Photo Album from Kensington. It's the ideal complement to a digital camera, scanner, or picture CD. Simply load the Digital Photo Album through the USB port with images from the computer (built-in memory stores up to 12 images/24 in Plus model) detach the unit from the computer, connect to any AC power supply, and display them one at a time or as a slide show. With no memory card required and no service fees, it's the all-in-one digital frame solution from Kensington. Make an impressive, customizable slide show or desktop keepsake in minutes. Album Manager software is included for quickly editing and loading images from the computer to the Digital Photo Album.

Amazon.com Product Description

The Kensington Digital Photo Album is a system for remotely displaying digital photos on a continual basis. The album, which is the size and shape of a desktop picture frame, stores 12 images in a variety of formats for display at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and cycles through them at a user-selected speed. Unlike other digital picture frames, the Kensington photo album does not use a subscription-based system to upload images. To get the images into the album, you must transfer the photos from a computer via the USB port. The included Album Manager software installs on your computer and allows you to drag and drop images for display on the digital photo album. The software also lets you crop, rotate, and set the orientation of a picture, as well as set the display time. An assortment of controls on the frame let you adjust contrast, play, sleep, stop, and show the previous or next picture.

Customer Reviews:

XP - Where's the upgrade?.......2002-06-29

June 2002 - When I finely opened this Christmas present (from Christmas 2001) it looked like it was going to be really cool.

what a disappointment! Doesn't work with Windows XP! And now the items been discontinued! What a joke!

Thumbs down on quality..........2002-01-03

While the digital photo album is a great idea this one lacks the resolution to display quality photos. If quality is a must for you then I wouldn't even consider this product. The resolution is only 320x240 dpi, regardless of the 640x480 dpi printed on the box, even for the Photo Album Plus (Kensington will tell you it is a misprint). There are wavy lines rolling across the pictures and one side of the screen is lighter than the other. Maybe this is why they are not selling these anymore... At least they are willing to give a full refund although you have to pay shipping costs so you still lose out.

Decent Frame for the money.......2001-12-06

Nice frame, extremely easy to use. You can even buy different frame covers so it will match your decor. The only downside is the display looks like the old Dual-scan laptop displays (lots of wavy lines when you look at it close up). It's also hard to view it on angles. It it best viewed from about 3-4 feet away. It's a decent frame, but not good if you want to show high quality pictures with lots of detail.

Average customer rating:

Moderately priced alternative.
Do Not Use Kensington Photo Album
For the price and the a piece of mind!
Easy to Use and No Internet Connection Required
No Mac support

Kensington Digital Photo Album Plus

Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

Digital Frames | Accessories | Camera & Photo | Categories | Electronics

Kensington | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics

Electronics Available for International Shipping | Specialty Stores | Electronics Features | Electronics
Product Features:

Modern metallic silver frame
640 x 480 color LCD screen
Can display JPEG, TIF, and bitmap files
Album Manager software eases photo transfers
7.4-inch diagonal viewable screen area

ASIN: B000053HMR

Amazon.com Product Description

The Kensington Digital Photo Album is a system for remotely displaying digital photos on a continual basis. The album, which is the size and shape of a desktop picture frame, stores 24 images in a variety of formats for display at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and cycles through them at a user-selected speed. Unlike other digital picture frames, the Kensington photo album does not use a subscription-based system to upload images. To get the images into the album, you must transfer the photos from a computer via the USB port. The included Album Manager software installs on your computer and allows you to drag and drop images for display on the digital photo album. The software also lets you crop, rotate, and set the orientation of a picture, as well as set the display time. An assortment of controls on the frame let you adjust contrast, play, sleep, stop, and show the previous or next picture.

Like a number of other digital frame offerings, there is a complementary online service. However, Kensington's online service is a bit different. Instead of including a modem and charging a subscription fee, Kensington's offering is a free service that lets you share your photos with anyone you like. Uploading is accomplished using the Album Manager software. You can upload different sets of images and mark them as public or private, and let only the people you want view your photos. Anyone who wants to view your photos then downloads them and transfers them to their Kensington Digital Photo Frame via USB.

Customer Reviews:

Moderately priced alternative........2002-03-14

I looked at a number of different digital frames before purchasing this model. The absence of the need for a subscription service appealed to me. I have already twice had the experience of having a novel technology company fail, leaving me with hardware that is worthless without the defunct subscription service. This product only requires an USB connection to your computer and a power outlet. The frame only needs to interface with a computer when adding or deleting pictures.

For the home user, this is a value-priced alternative to more expensive digital frames. The simplistic design of the hardware is both handsome and well constructed. In the three months that I have been using mine, I have knocked it off the desktop several times without any functional or cosmetic damage to the unit. Unlike some competing units, the screen size is large enough to comfortably view a picture. The picture quality is acceptably good, but the image does strobe a bit and dark colors tend to fade at the edges, especially the color black. The software included is easy to setup and easy to use. Although one reviewer indicated that the software might be incompatible with some Windows operating systems, I have used it with Windows ME and Windows XP Pro without a problem. As opposed to the frames that do require Internet service, this frame does not need to connect to a telephone line and does not carry a subscription fee. If you are looking to share pictures and receive pictures into your frame from friends or family, a frame with an Internet connection might be better for you. If you only need to display your own still images, this frame will do that without breaking your budget.

Do Not Use Kensington Photo Album.......2002-01-03

This item should not be used.
People need to be warned NOT to load the software. It is NOT compatible with Microsoft and causes damage to the Operating system ('98 as well as XP). XP provides a warning but '98 does not. We have more damage to our operating system than any Virus I ever had. We are very unhappy with the product and will be returning it and possibly contacting an attorney.

For the price and the a piece of mind!.......2001-12-05

After doing all the research reading all the reviews (here & newsgroups) I finally go ahead and got the Album Plus. There are no online service fee, like other models.

The photo quality is good... but can't compare your computer monitor. Kodak may have the better screen but the pain of setting up and the online fee...I wouldn't even touch it with all the complain I read. hope this help everyone else

Easy to Use and No Internet Connection Required.......2001-03-22

We purchased this frame for use overseas. We purchased the Ceiva frames for our relatives in the US, but we can't use the Ceiva service over here - no US dial-up number is available. With the Kodak and Sony frames you have to have a card or memory stick, which we also do not have. This frame allows all updating to be done through a USB port, which is perfect for us!

We picked the "PLUS" version because it handled more pictures (24 as opposed to 12) and the picture pixel dimensions (640x480) were compatible with photos we had previously formatted for use on our families' Ceiva frames. As it turns out, pixel dimensions were a non-issue, but it is nice to have the 24 picture capacity.

Set-up: We got the frame plugged in to the wall (with a voltage adapter) and our USB port. Using the included CD rom with software and our saved photos, we had the frame up and loaded with photos within five minutes - pretty impressive and extremely easy!

Software: The software does not seem to care about picture size in pixels. It applies a best-fit to all photos, and puts them in your "album", which you then transfer to the frame. The best-fit causes a few problems if you want to display portrait photos in landscape mode (heads and feet chopped off), but you can edit the size displayed. Otherwise, you have no other editing options for your photos in their included software. (A contrast-editing function would be nice...)

Frame Loading: The frame loads extremely quickly. Once you put together your "album" of 24 pictures and click to transfer it to your frame, the pictures go in seconds. We tried photos from 80k to 500k (.jpg format), but they took the same amount of time to load and looked the same on the display.

Picture Quality: The picture display is good, but not quite as good as the Ceiva display. We need to experiment with contrast, but the pictures seem slightly more washed out than on the Ceiva.

Ease of Use: This is a great product for someone who is familiar enough with computers to handle a CD-Rom drive, a USB port, and basic software. Updates are quick and easy. However, if you are looking for a frame to display photos for someone who is not familiar with a computer, the Ceiva might be a better bet.

Overseas Use: If you live overseas, you cannot use a Ceiva because you cannot get the updates without calling a "local" US phone number. The Sony is very expensive - twice the price of this - and requires a memory stick - yet another piece of hardware. So, if you want a digital frame for use in Europe, this is your only bet, but not without challenges... Amazon.com will not ship this item overseas, but thanks to some helpful US-based relatives, we managed to receive it. Kensington also does not currently sell this product in Europe, nor do they have plans to, according to their marketing department. Therefore, I found Kensington customer service completely unhelpful with regards to my questions on power supply. For those of you in a 220v area, the adapter is 110 only, with 7.5v DC into the frame. However, it is a standard "box with a wire" type, so you can either plug it into a voltage converter (a travel one will do, but probably not for long-term use) or purchase an adapter over here.

These frames are a great idea, and an excellent way to display digital photos. Enjoy!

No Mac support.......2001-01-23

I was excited when I saw this, but the absence of Mac support makes this one a no-no for me. I checked Kensington's web site, and you need Windows 98. It is also not clear if the USB connection is appropriate for Virtual PC running Windows 98 - this is a problem with the PocketPC, and prevents synchronising. Bottom line, don't buy this if you have a Mac, as it is probably not compatible. Oh, and by the way, no international power supply, only 110-120V.

Shame, because it looks like a nice piece of equipment, and it's cheaper than the Sony equivalent.

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