Kogan 8in WiFi digital photo frame

It’s hard not to like Kogan’s 8in WiFi Digital Photo Frame, with its glossy finish on the frame and its array of features. It’s one of the few photo frames on the market with wireless networking incorporated into its design, allowing you to connect to services such as Facebook, Twitter and Photobucket.

The 8in screen supports an impressive 800x600 resolution, producing sharp images with accurate contrast and colour reproduction. From up close and afar the image quality is excellent, displaying images that are detailed and vibrant. The LCD screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio (the same ratio as many compact digital cameras).

The Kogan frame has a built-in 802.11b/g wireless adapter. You can use it to access an RSS photo feed from Photobucket or Twitter, for example. Each photo frame has its own unique e-mail address as well, allowing the wireless transmission of photos to and from other devices such as mobile phones and computers — making uploading your photos easy.

The unit has the standard SD/MMC inputs with a mini-USB connection that connects direct to a computer via a supplied cable, but we were disappointed to see that the unit doesn’t include a host USB input. As such, photos cannot be played on the unit directly from a USB memory stick. Additionally, when an SD card is inserted into the unit, the rubber protector has nowhere to be tucked away. It stands upright, awkwardly sticking up from the top of the frame and detracting from the digital photo frame’s clean lines.

The unit has 256MB of internal memory, but there is no option to copy your photos directly from your memory cards to the unit’s internal memory — transferring images using your PC is the only option. This means the process of loading photos onto the digital photo frame becomes more time-consuming.

There is an extensive menu available to customise the display. Several options are available, such as slideshow effects, brightness and adjusting the slideshow speed. Whichever slideshow effect is selected, the transition is seamless and smooth (in particular the ‘Blend’ effect in which the one image gracefully dissolves into the next). The slideshow can also be controlled by the included remote control.

In our tests the digital photo frame froze up several times on start-up, leaving the ‘Wi-Fi Connecting’ screen displayed. To fix this the power plug needs to be pulled out from the outlet and the unit rebooted.

The physical design of the frame is simple yet appealing with its glossy finish and touch border design. On the right hand side of the bezel are a number of navigational touch buttons that are surprisingly responsive. The photo frame feels stable but is quite thick, looking bulky from side-on. The screen is overly glossy and prone to reflections.

There are a range of features also incorporated into the frame such as auto power saving, which will make the frame turn off at night. The smart photo playlist gives you the option of selecting what photos should be displayed on a specific day (for example, a family member’s birthday). The digital photo frame also allows images to be rotated during display by using the remote control.

Overall the Kogan 8in WiFi Digital Photo Frame is impressive in its design and performance. The incorporation of wireless technology into the frame is a new trend in digital photo frames, and it proves to be both convenient and effective. Kogan’s photo frame is affordably priced, and has a stylish design and lots of features.