Kodak's new digital photo frames have Wi-Fi, play sound and video

A few months back, when we asked Kodak reps why the company wouldn't have its new digital photo frames available in time for the 2006 holiday buying season, they said it was because the frames that Kodak would announce at CES 2007 were going to be ambitious, and the company needed time to get them right. Well, now that I have final specs and pricing, it's hard to argue with that strategy. On paper, at least, the new frames--the top-end ones anyway--offer most of the features I'd want in a digital photo frame and should put a scare into photo-frame pioneer Ceiva Logic, which also has announced a line of new frames.

Kodak's new photo frames arrive in March.

(Credit: Kodak)

In total, Kodak will offer four new models, with a 10-inch and an 8-inch model that have wireless capabilities to allow streaming photos from your home PC or online Kodak gallery. The part that should worry Ceiva is that Kodak doesn't charge for this service. All the frames not only display pictures but also play sound (MP3 playback) and video (MPEG-1 and MPEG-4, MOV, AVI) files and accept the main memory card formats (CF, SD, MMC, xD, and MS). You can also directly plug in a camera or a thumbdrive via USB 2.0. Stereo speakers are built into the frames, so you can add a soundtrack to your slide shows. Plus, a small remote is included, and optional frame faceplates will be sold so that you can customize the frame's look.

Here's a look at the specs on the four picture frames, all of which Kodak says will be available in early March.

• The Kodak EasyShare EX1011 has 10-inch (diagonal) 800x480 high-resolution digital display in 16:9 aspect ratio, Wi-Fi, 128MB of built-in memory, built-in stereo speakers, and a headphone jack for music. Price: $279.95 (MSRP).
• The Kodak EasyShare EX811 has an 8-inch (diagonal) 800x480 high-resolution digital display in 16:9 aspect ratio with identical features to the EX1011. Price: $229.95 (MSRP).
• The Kodak EasyShare SV811 Digital Picture Frame is an 8-inch frame with the same features as the EX811 Frame, but with no wireless capabilities. Price: $179.95 (MSRP).
• The Kodak EasyShare SV710 has a 7-inch (diagonal) 480x234-resolution analog display in 16:9 aspect ratio without wireless capabilities. Price: $129.95 (MSRP).