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NETGEAR brings back the desktop digital photo frame with its Meural online content service and photo exchange
Meural’s New Digital Photo Frame Might Resurrect the Comic Strip Calendar | Gizmodo
From the horse’s mouth
NETGEAR Meural
My Comments
Meural is a brand owned by NETGEAR who offer an online photo frame and content platform.
It is reinvigorating a product class that fell along the wayside thanks to the popularity of smartphones and mobile-platform tablets. But what is this product class?
It is the electronic photo frame that shows pictures held on, usually, removeable storage on a built-in screen. These devices would show the pictures for a pre-determined time period then bring up another picture automatically. It was seen initially to have your parents see digital images of their grandchildren but have also appealed to businesses as cost-effective digital signage that can be located on the reception desk.
There were a variety of these units that connected to your home network and worked with an online photo-exchange service like Ceiva so people can send digital photos to them. The users have control over who can send photos to them to avoid distasteful imagery appearing on these devices. Some of these photo frames even were tied with online content services so that stock photos, fine art and the like can be shown on them.
NETGEAR’s sub-brand Meural has continued the latter trend by offering a range of electronic photo frames that are centred around content services. This is about having these devices repositioned as a “digital art frame”, especially in the form of wall-mounted large screen devices. As well, the Meural platform will do what Ceiva had done by having an online photo exchange where you and others whom you approve can post photos to appear on these frames.
But they have brought back the classic desktop electronic-photo-frame form factor and substantiated it with a comic-calendar content service. It is a throwback to desk calendar products that featured a comic strip for each day. All of the content services are available for USD$70 per year. But they are offering the Peanuts comic-strip archive including Snoopy for US$30 per year as a stand-alone package.
These electronic photo frames implement touch-free gestures as a way of interacting with them, avoiding the ugly look of fingerprints on the glass or having to grope around the back to press buttons to change images. As well, they work with voice-driven home assistant platforms.
They also use an ambient light sensor so they effectively blend in to the room’s lighting. As well, they turn themselves off overnight so they don’t become too bright while you sleep.
What NETGEAR are realising is that the electronic photo frame can be seen as a digital content distribution medium for art and photography. As well, they are encouraging us not to forget about the idea of the electronic photo frame as a device to display photographs and the like, along with keeping us interested in “digital photo exchange” services.
