Pix-Star 10.4 Inch Wi-Fi Cloud Digital Photo Frame FotoConnect XD with Email, Online Providers, iPhone & Android app, DLNA and Motion Sensor Black

Apologies in advance for the lengthy review. I try to be very thorough, especially considering this frame was not inexpensive at $189.99, but entirely worth every cent.Compared to other digital photo frames that have Wi-fi connectivity, the Pix-Star PXT510WR02 10.4 Inch FotoConnect XD Digital Picture Frame is by far the best choice. Kodak had similar offerings, but their frames were either smaller in size or were more expensive. Kodak has since filed for bankruptcy, resulting in their Wi-fi enabled picture frame content management to be transferred to a third party. Since there is no guarantee that the proverbial "plug" might be pulled on the Kodak picture frames at any time, choosing a Wi-fi enable picture frame leaves you with few choices. Enter Pix-Star, with their well-designed 10.4" offering.Right out of the box, it is clear this frame will lead to years of enjoyment. The materials are of good quality. The frame is non-touchscreen, which helps eliminate fingerprints, but in order to keep the face of the frame clean, the navigation buttons were placed on the back of the frame, which takes some serious getting used to. If you decide to mount the frame on the wall, the buttons are inaccessible. For this reason, the supplied remote control that works from across the room is a definite "must". There is a SD card slot on the back of the frame, along with a USB port. (Hint: If you have a spare USB Bluetooth dongle, you can plug it in to the USB port and you've also just made this frame Bluetooth compatible, allowing you to send photos directly and instantly to the frame with a Bluetooth-enabled device.Setup is simple enough. Following the supplied directions was a breeze. The manufacturer's website supplies some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and also serves as the content management for your frame. Pictures saved to the frame can be deleted from the frame or from the website. Delete only from the frame and you still have a backup online. Delete only online and still have the picture saved locally on the frame. Check the box to delete from both sources to wipe a picture completely. Upon registering your photo frame with Pix-Star, you create a dedicated e-mail address ([email protected]), which allows you to use your computer (PC or Mac) or your data- or Wi-fi enabled smartphone or tablet to log in to your e-mail provider (Gmail, Yahoo!, Outlook, etc.), attach a picture to it, hit send and in about one minute, the picture arrives at your photo frame, provided it is connected to Wi-fi. In the frame's settings, you can enable the option to show the subject line of the e-mail overlaid on the picture in an unobtrusive fashion, which can help serve as a description of the picture (where/when it was taken or what you were doing). There are three methods to e-mail delivery. Since I am gifting someone who is tech-savvy, I elected to choose the "notify me, then let me decide to save or delete the new picture mail" option. The frame has sound, so it lets you know when there is new mail, along with displaying a "new mail" icon in the top right corner. The other two options are to "automatically save, and inform me of the new picture mail" or "automatically save and don't notify me". I prefer the first option, since it notifies you of the incoming mail, but also allows you to delete the picture immediately. With "SPAM" e-mail as prevalent as it is, you never know who may end up sending random pictures to your or your loved ones' photo frame. Once pictures are received, the frame even has the option to send it to other recipients, without the need for logging in to your account on the website.As an added bonus, this frame also allows Wi-fi streaming of radio stations from numerous countries, all over the world. You can have the radio play in the background while still using the frame to cycle through pictures. Weather information is also an option, although I have not explored it yet. According to the website, it can take several hours for the weather information to update and make its way to your frame, so don't be alarmed if you don't see it right away. I didn't in the about hour I tested the frame before packing it back up to send to the parents.One final note regarding the Wi-fi connectivity. There are some reviews that state the frame has a sub-par radio. I did not have any issues connecting the frame, although it did take uncannily long to connect - literally about 5-6 minutes passed before the icons on the frame's Wi-fi menu changed to active and the frame began receiving e-mails. Attempting to retry entering in the access point (router) password resulted in the same 5-6 minute wait. Since I have a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) backup battery, I was able to test the range of the frame up to approximately 75 feet (outside to the sidewalk) before the frame lost connection. Your results may vary depending on your router's strength. My results were obtained with a WRT610N Linksys router. Once connected, there were zero issues with the photo frame. It took about 30 minutes for all of the radio stations to show up on the frame. Picture mail was immediately received and were consistently received within about a minute each and every time I sent a test picture.Bottom line: A solid choice! There aren't any other true Wi-fi photo frames out there that have as many options as this one, with such a large screen, with a dedicated e-mail address and with great support. There is one other Wi-fi photo frame out there I considered (Ceiva.com), but it required a monthly/yearly membership fee to use the picture mail, etc. option - I prefer paying a bit more on the front end, which pays itself off in just a few months of use. Buy the Pix-Star now and you won't be disappointed.

When searching for a birthday gift for my 77 year old mother I happened upon this digital photo frame. I liked it because of the 10" size and for the WiFi capabilities. When I read that the frame would be paired with a unique email address so that anyone with the address and authorization could send the frame photos I was sold on it as a gift idea.The frame also has the ability to play music from a micro SD card, or via preset Internet radio stations of various genres. The ability of the frame to receive voice messages and videos was also a selling point, and justification enough for me to spend a bit more than anticipated on this item.UNBOXING & SETUP:The frame seems well made and has VESA mounting holes on the back of it, so that the frame could easily be mounted to a wall. It ships with an AC power adapter and a metal dowel (pictured to the back of the frame) which props it on a desktop. The frame is about the same size as a standard 8x12" frame, and not much thicker.There is a remote in the box with two AAA batteries. Install the batteries before powering on the unit if you want to use it with the frame to set it up. There are also buttons on the back of the frame to navigate the menu if the remote is lost or out of batteries.The on/off switch on the back of the frame is a little tough to see, but once you plug in the AC and flip that switch to 'on', the frame starts setting itself up by showing you an onscreen menu.You will need your WiFi password to connect the frame to wireless internet; on which most of the functions of the frame will rely. After entering the password on my Mom's frame, the photos I'd sent to it began to immediately populate the screen.NOTE: You can setup the email account for the frame ahead of time if giving it as a gift, and add or remove photos as desired both via a PC on the Pix-Star website, or on the photo frame itself.----------------------------WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT...1. It's super easy to setup and works as promised.2. The pictures look great on the screen - true colors and great resolutions (if the photos also had this).3. The internet radio and music via micro SD card feature is really nice to have in addition to the ability to add external speakers.4. The onscreen Menu interface is clear and easy to use.5. You can email photos downloaded to the device to other people, with the frame, which makes a computer unnecessary for the frame user.6. The remote is easy to use, with clear navigation.7. Friends and family can sent photos, videos and audio messages to the frame with ease using the FREE Pix-Star Snap apps for iOS and Android and via email (also free).8. No hidden charges or fees for the Pix-Star service!9. Internal storage on the device is very good, and you can add more with a micro SD card (not included). With 300 pictures and a voice message, only 3% of the internal storage was being used.10. Easy to see date and time feature.11. Lots of Settings that allow for personalization of how you view photos; as singles or in various collage styles, and in varying speeds and with various transitions.12. Weather info is useful and up-to-date with web based interface.13. Social media can be connected to the frame so that pictures posted on sites like Facebook, can also automatically be sent to the frame.14. Photos that the user doesn't want on the frame can easily be deleted in the Settings Menu.15. High capacity internal storage means not having to worry about sending too many photos to the device, and if it does get 'too full' it's simple to go online to take photos off the frame without losing them. I think the max is something like 20,000 photos without any additional storage added, which for most users will be more than enough.----------------------------WHAT I WISH WAS BETTER...- Build quality seems good, but not 'high-end'. Time will tell how it holds up with continued use.- Backlighting on the remote would be a useful addition.- The games are not really a useful addition as the remote control is the only way to navigate them without a touchscreen interface.- The instructions that come with the frame are a little confusing, but I found that going to the Pix-Star website and clicking 'Support' and 'Knowledge Base' was helpful. This address: pixstar.uservoice.com/knowledgebase is a good place to check if you have questions as to the functionality of your frame.- The option to untether from the AC power and go on battery power would be nice.------------------------------------CONCLUSION:The ability to easily send photos via PC, smartphone or tablet to the Pix-Star digital frame is a wonderful feature, and the main one that interested me when I purchased it as a gift. It was simple to register the frame, pick a unique email address for it, and begin sending photos to the email which automatically showed up on the frame after it was connected to wireless internet. My sister and I now have a way to share photos of our kids with their grandmother almost instantaneously, as well as voice messages and videos.There's a lot more to this frame than others of its size and price range, and the FREE Pix-Star service seems to work very well. The apps are FREE too, and worked well on both my Android smartphone and my iOS devices (iPad Air 2 and iPhone).This product has lots of features (be sure to read the product description and go to the Pix-Star site to read more...) and is well worth the money if you have someone who is not tech-savvy, but still wants to enjoy staying connected to family and friends. It would also be a good choice forMy Mom loved hers and I recommend it to others for its ease of use, multiple functions, and clear, bright screen.

We purchased this eight years ago for the grandparents and they still use and love it! All of the family sends their photos to the frame and it just really brings joy to the grandparents. Highly recommend for a fun grandparent Christmas gift!