Desktop Gadgets
Sungale ID800WT Digital Photo Frame Review
Sungale ID800WT Digital Photo Frame
Sungale’s ID800WT do-everything photo frame has a spec sheet designed to please the most discerning photo lover. For that reason, it has moved right into the same neighborhood with one of our favorite frames – the iGala Wireless Digital Picture Frame. The ID800WT, like the iGala, is priced around $250 and offers features well beyond the norm – including internet connectivity, improved screen, touchscreen interface, streaming media playback and more. The ID800WT is certainly not cheap, but the promise of so many features demands attention even in a crowded market.
Read on to see if the ID800WT capitalizes on the big ambitions of Sungale’s engineers.
The Hardware
Sungale’s announcement of the ID800WT recently garnered interest among technophiles.
The highlights of the hardware are a generous 800×600 resolution, high-quality screen, touchscreen interface, built-in Wi-Fi, a multi-format card reader and a capacious 512MB of internal memory. The ID800WT is right at the top in terms of hardware in this price range.
The look of the frame is classic, understated but pleasing. The back panel reveals two easy-to-use thumbscrews to remove the stock frame and replace with another frame., at least in theory. At this time, Sungale has published no information on where to obtain additional frames.
One other oddity – the unit has an infrared receiver centered just beneath the bottom edge of the screen. Sungale however includes no remote and again does not advertise how to make use of this feature.
In all the hardware is well designed and of high quality. The eventual availability of replacement frames could bump up the “style” factor, but even so we find it suitable for nearly any desk – home office or executive penthouse.
Features & Software
As excited as we were with the hardware specifications, it was the long list of internal applications that really got our attention.
The feature list – copied from Sungale’s ID800WT page:
- Youtube: Top ten YouTube programs for your entertainment
- RSS news: Google &Yahoo
- IP Radio: Thousands of stations for your selection
- Picasa: View and download your photos
- Stock: Real-time stock quotes and market news
- Gmail: Watch your email without a PC
- Weather: Real time weather report in your area
- Video: AVI
- Music: WMA
- Photo: JPG, TIF, PNG, BMP
- Calendar: Digital Calendar
- Clock: Analogue Clock display
- Touch Screen: Touch screen to do your operation
Sounds great, but how did it perform?
Unfortunately, we found the actual operation of this feature list to be a mixed bag.
Features: The Good
Displaying photos, it’s no surprise that the ID800WT does quite well. The screen is bright and crisp – not the very best we’ve used but well above average. The 512MB internal memory is more than adequate for storing oodles of your favorite photos. The transitions between photos are snappy.
Connecting to the wireless network is simple and smart and painless.
Most of the software features (but not all – read the next section) work as advertised. RSS reading, video & music playback, internet radio streaming, weather, Gmail, etc all operated properly.
Features: The Bad
Unfortunately we encountered a fair share of problems, or at least annoyances, during our time with the ID800WT photo frame.
We crashed the unit on several occasions attempting to play “Top 10″ videos from YouTube. Not all Top 10 videos seem to cause this, but the ones that do do so consistently. The entire frame became unresponsive and our only recourse was to power cycle the unit. Very frustrating.
Despite trying on multiple WiFi networks, verifying our login many times, and patiently typing and retyping the login information, we were unable to connect to Picasa. This was disappointing as Picasa is a great photo service and we were excited to see how Sungale’s product enhanced it. This may work great for others, but we were unable to enjoy this feature.
Beyond these errors, we were perplexed at the rough edges and inconsistency of the interface. Each application seemingly was designed in a vacuum (possibly each by a different designer & programmer?), making individual features feel like stand-alones rather than part of a well-planned whole. In too many cases, small icons without accompanying labels served important purposes, but only trips to the manual would reveal them.
In another example, we could not get the stock application to recognize popular stocks symbols such as Apple (“AAPL”). This was not a major drawback to us but again, a case where things don’t work quite as you would hope, gimping the effective feature list. No onscreen help pointed us in the right direction.
The Gmail application does indeed read email, but be forewarned that email content is displayed in a test-only, bare-bones and is needlessly cramped on-screen. As a result reading Gmail on the ID800WT requires lots of sifting through technical headers, scrolling and patience. We doubt many this application will replace customer’s home computer or iPhone for reading email.
The difficulty of typing accurately on the touchscreen was our final frustration. The Sungale is not alone in this respect among photo frames, but typing passwords especially was troublesome. Happily you won’t find yourself typing too often on it – once you’ve got your favorite applications configured you shouldn’t need to reenter text again.
The Verdict
We came in hoping that the Sungale ID800WT and it’s amazing feature list would unseat our reigning photo frame champ, the iGala Digital Picture Frame. Sungale’s hardware specs are up to the task but ultimately the ID800WT is let down by the implementation of its myriad software features. The frame that looks unbeatable on paper but after spending hours with it, a surprising number of rough edges appeared. With a little more thought to a cohesive interface design, improvements to some of the functionality and some overall polish, we believe the ID800WT could be a winner.
At a price of just under $250 however, we continue to recommend the iGala Frame. It doesn’t have quite as many features listed on the spec sheet but what it does do – and it’s plenty – it does slickly and we found the iGala’s apps to all be fully usable. Sadly we did not find the same to be true of the Sungale.
There is a niche market out there for the Sungale ID800WT because it does offers unique features. It has a great physical screen, attractive design and some may find that one or two of its software applications are compelling enough to warrant the purchase. Overall we are left feeling that the ID800WT is a major software update or two away from being the product we know it can be. At an asking price of $250, that’s tough to swallow. If Sungale releases updates to the ID800WT we will revisit this review with updated impressions to share with you.
Best Digital Picture Frame? (Review of iGala Wireless Photo Frame)
The iGala Wireless Digital Picture Frame from newcomer Aequitas LLC is quickly turning heads among photo fanatics. The iGala may prove to be the best digital picture frame in a market already crowded with lackluster products. We can’t help being reminded by the iPhone in many respects – the touchscreen, the attractive uncluttered on-screen interface and internet capabilities (via built-in wireless). Oh, and the name. The iPhone was definitely on iGala engineers minds during the design process, and that’s not a criticism.
Also like the iPhone, the iGala finds itself in a maturing market crowded with digital frames that may look good on the Target shelf but ultimately disappoint due to dubious photo quality, poor design and more emphasis on swappable faceplates (hey, extra revenue right?) than usability. In that context iGala’s specs are pretty impressive and we like its chances. Peep this:
- Touchscreen Interface
- Built-In WiFi wireless
- 800 x 600 Resolution
- Automatically updates photos over internet from email (Gmail) and Flickr
- Load more photos via SD Media Card or any USB drive/device
- 1GB internal memory; store up to 5,000 photos
- Auto Power Save, Alarm and Clock functions
- No PC Needed
- No subscription needed
The screen is plenty bright, sharp and nicely offset by the understated clear plastic bezel. Configuration of the unit with iPhone-esque buttons and keyboard via the touchscreen interface is a snap – you don’t want to set Flickr and Gmail configuration/url/username/password via two arrow buttons and an enter key, right?
For such a unique and powerful photo frame, the price (roughly $239 at the time of this writing) in our opinion is justified. There is really no other entry that can compete with the iGala at this time.
This is also a device that would look right at home on any executive desk and, if we may say so, would complement a high quality set of GLA-55 speakers very nicely.
LINUX provides the UI and performance muscle under the iGala’s pretty skin. So naturally we hope iGala will expand further on the nice start they’ve made. We see support for Facebook albums, TwitPic and more as smart next steps to make this the must-have digital photo frame for the well-connected geek. This would be a great project platform if it’s ever released to open source or supported by an extensible plugin architecture. But we digress.
As it stands already the iGala is a sweet looking, cutting edge picture frame that’s sending the competition scrambling back to the drawing boards. That’s going to be good for all of us.
I Want One!
Available from ThinkGeek (UPDATE: BACK IN STOCK 4/24).
Harmon Kardon GLA-55 Desktop Speakers
Those looking for a stylish unique compact and powerful set of desktop speakers for your PC iTunes or iPod need look no further than the Harmon Kardon GLA-55 2.0 Speaker System
The way the audio controls and jacks are integrated makes this a beauty to behold (see photo below).
The GLA-55 speaker system delivers 110W (55 per channel) and near-reference quality audio performance throughout the frequency spectrum. More than a pretty face Harmon Kardon made sure that this system shares the DSP and high-end speaker components found in their line of audiophile speakers. Harmon Kardon is never known as ‘cheap’ but with all this punch laying below the surface you may be hard pressed to find regular boxy 3-way speakers with this combination of price performance and size, much less ones that look this cool.
Read more from Amazon.
Portable Espresso Lets You Buy Once, Drink Everywhere
Handpresso; Buy Once, Drink Anywhere
Mobile phones, portable electronics and of course – portable Java. We love anything that lets us get our geek on – and our drink on – when away from home and Starbucks. So understandably this little beauty caught our eye. It’s a caffeine-serving portable gadget for crying out loud.
The Handpresso (ThinkGeek)
, also known as the Handpresso Wild, is a coffee press on steroids shot by a shrink ray. Or something. Whether camping, at work or geocaching this lets you take a quick break for a consistently good, professional-grade Espresso drink. Just the thing to keep you going in a harsh world.
This portable expresso machine weighs less than two and a half iPhones. How they did this is beyond us but we’re happy they did. Handpresso generates all the pressure – courtesy of a hand pump – to make a great shot of espresso. Add hot water, place an Espresso pod in the device and release the switch. Voila: Java Anywhere. Uses Gaggia Coffee Pods
(Sun Microsystems is still working on the portability of their implementation)
Quality Espresso
The build quality of the Handpresso is impressive. Make sure you have very hot water. An office water dispenser will suffice. Don’t expect oodles of crema (the brown foam on top of espresso) but we were very happy with the taste of the Gaggia coffee pods and the overall results are excellent.
More
Here’s some more info about our favorite drink (Espresso @ Wikipedia)
The Well-Traveled Barista
Handpresso
Favorite Halloween Gadgets 2008
We’ve scoured a ton of Halloween decorations and gear and hand-picked a few that really stand out from the crowd. We’ve got the perfectly creepy decorations for your cubicle, Halloween party and … your iPhone. Read on!
Horror Halloween Handrest
Do monsters get full right before finishing the last bite or is it that you simply can’t be a member of the clean plate club when you wait for your victims in pitch black? Whatever the case, this clever handrest is certain to amuse and possibly disgust your coworkers and family. Designed to be the perfect ergonomic size for using a mouse or keyboard, it can also double as a Halloween prop. But you really want to get a reaction at work don’t you? See Horror Halloween Handrest.
Spooky Shadow Light
Not earth-shattering but we’re a sucker for anything that reminds us of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. You’ll definitely want a dark room for this as the light is not too powerful. But it’s great to watch as the ghosts, spiders and other nightmares go spinning across the walls. Just don’t get this mixed up with Junior’s usual revolving lights with all the friendly animals, ok? See Spooky Shadow Light
Halloween Lighted Spider Garland
These are great because they’re unusual. Instead of the usual pumpkins or just regular christmas-lights-turned-orange, this swarm of creepy arachnids are lit by the included 50 orange lights on a 9′ string. They’re happy to scare visitors and children both indoors and outdoors. See Halloween Spider Garland Light Set
Webcaster Gun
Ever wanted to fill your home with professional-looking cobwebs? The Shadows Edge has you – and your household – covered with the Webcaster Gun. Aided by Webcaster Stick refills and a typical air compressor, the Webcaster Gun will throw realistic spiderweb strands wherever you point it. Up to 12 feet away! The Sticks come in 6 varieties. Unfortunately this appears only to be available at retail in select states. Watch the video this thing is very cool. From what we can tell this is not yet available online but in this case don’t let that deter you. Guests will never have seen anything like what this can provide. See Webcaster Gun.
USB Pumpkin Light String
Brando peddles a lot of useless crap but these are worth checking out. A string of 8 glowing (ok, blinking) pumpkins that will plug easily into your computer and instantly provide a spooky vibe. Anything that gets friendly with the computer always has a place in our heart, especially for Halloween. Available only from Brando online.
Coffin Fogger
This skeleton is boiling mad and pushing his way out of a 10″ coffin. Perfect size for a serving table or countertop to add a bit of Halloween flair to the festivities. Just add water and the mist will start pouring from the coffin while also changing colors from underneath. See Coffin Fogger Skeleton
online, also available at Target (if you can still find any).
Just One More: Crazy Pumpkin App (Free App for iPhone and iPod Touch)
This is a popular and fun free application on iTunes. It shows a glowing pumpkin. OK, no surprise there. The look is very nice with an effective animated glow. Swipe the screen and ‘carve’ new eyes, nose and mouth. Shake it and get a random scary sound effect and change the color. This app looks even better in the dark – make sure you have it on hand for halloween parties! Get Crazy Pumpkin (iTunes).
Jellyfish Mood Lamp
Aquariums are long renowned for their calming and mesmerizing effect on the human psyche .. but it’s harder to get that where you need it – AT WORK. Maybe you’re familiar with the USB aquarium concept or just really into your Sea Monkeys (pointy haired boss does not approve). For those of us not yet invested in a aquatic solution, much less one at the office, may we suggest this one. The motion, ever-changing lighting and size of this is just amazing. Check the video after the break and impress your stressed-out non-centered friends around the office!
Jellyfish Mood Lamp (Best Price @ Think Geek)
Great Deals
More Resources
High Priority Thread
Star Trek Delta Shield Tee