Displaying photos around your home is one way to breath life and warmth into your home. Photos make us happy as we relive memories, and tell those who visit a little about ourselves before we even chat. They are great conversation starters, and even better for capturing memories. With the advancement in technology, videos are becoming a preferred way to capture amazing memories. However, the simplicity of the photo will remain hard to beat. That is where the iHome Smartshare frame (coming soon) comes in.
Photo displaying technology is moving fast. It is providing better ways to display our favourite photos, without having to swap pictures in and out of frames. They are great for keeping things fresh. Products like the iHome Smartshare frame are changing how we decorate our homes, and how we show off the things we love.
What is included in the boxÂ
While technology can be daunting for some, iHome is making things easy. The box only contains three items: the photo frame, the frame stand, and a DC adapter. All three are packaged nicely and are easily removed without the worry of potentially breaking your new frame. The included instruction sheet makes setting up your new photo frame a breeze.
Digital photo frames are not new, and the iHome Smartshare frame includes the key features you would expect in a digital frame. It displays images at 1080p resolution, and navigating the 10 inch LCD display is easy with touchscreen controls. Uploading to the 16GB of internal memory was also very quick, which isn’t always the case with digital photo frames. The frame can be displayed horizontally or vertically, and can also be mounted to a wall.
The frame has the traditional micro USB port and micro SD card slot for adding photos quickly and easily to the frame. This is a great way to move older photos from personal computer hard drives to the frame. Adding photos is as easy as loading them onto the micro USB Drive or micro SD card via a personal computer, and then inserting the drive or card into the frame. Users can then decide which photos they would like to upload and simply click the upload button.
For those looking to move photos from their mobile phones directly to the frame, this can be done via the Frameo app. The app is readily available on the Google Play Store for Android, and the App Store for iOS devices. Once the app is downloaded, you can walk through the steps to connect your photo frame to your WI-FI network. Once your frame is on the WI-FI network, you will be able to use a special code to connect your mobile device to the frame itself.
One of the most frustrating experiences for my wife and I is when friends of families have photos of our kids that we can’t easily access. With the iHome Smartshare frame, I can actually allow friends and family to directly upload pictures to my frame. The process is relatively simple as well. Once the Frameo app is installed on their devices, I can easily generate a friend code that they can then use to upload directly to my frame. It’s a really great feature, and keeps us surprised as well as new photos popped up on the frame.
This photo frame from iHome boasts the ability to display photos in 1080p. However, it’s worth noting that this won’t make pictures look better. For example, the really bad photos I took at Disney World from earlier this year still look really terrible on the iHome Smartshare frame. That’s an issue with the photographer, not the frame’s ability to display a photo.
The pictures my wife took, on the other hand, look really great. The colours on the display are really sharp. I’ve seen photo frames that have issues replicating the actual quality of a photo. This one from iHome does so splendidly. Of all the frames I’ve owned over the years, this one is actually one that stays.
Things to consider before purchasing
There are a few things I quickly noted as potential negatives when using the iHome Smartshare frame. First, since the device uses a DC Adaptor for powering the frame, it will need to be relatively close to an outlet. That can limit where you can place the frame, or can complicate already overly full outlets in key areas of your home. I did have issues finding plug space around my entertainment units and my nightstand.
The other downside I found is how friends and family can upload photos to the frame. While I thought this was a great feature, it’s worth noting that you can’t completely control what is being displayed on the frame. You can control who has access, but once you give someone clearance to share, there’s no approval process for uploading photos, so there is the potential for unwanted photos to suddenly appear for everyone to see.
If you are looking to find space in your home to share your favourite pictures, the iHome is a frame that will fit in nicely. The wood coloured plastic frame looks great and worked well in various areas throughout my home. Although I cannot say how long the frame will hold up long term, or its durability should it fall, I am really impressed. The built quality is great, and the choice of frame colour was smart.
Phones have become the number one way people snap pictures. Being able to quickly upload images to a digital photo frame is not only easy, but it is a time saver. Forget printing out dozens of photos and finding frames or books for all of them. Display them with pride instead on the iHome Smartshare frame (coming soon)!
