March, 2007

Kodak is back in the digital picture frame market. In April they will begin offering 4 new photo frames. Each frame integrates with the Kodak Easyshare Software and allows users to connect a digital camera directly to the frame. Those folks who have pictbridge enabled printers can print directly from the frame.

By all accounts, we had a very successful Holiday Season selling digital frames, some drop shipped and some inventoried to accommodate popularity. We didn't have great SEO, especially on Google, so we used adwords to generate more traffic. It worked well enough that we were quite busy. The reality though was that drop shipping wasn't as simple and hands-off as its promoters would have you believe.

You see, what isn't discussed as often with drop shipping are the hassles that it creates. Selling digital photo frames, a newer technology, in particular created issues for us that we did not expect. The most noticeable was the customer service we had to undertake to help clients get their frames working, or to diagnose when the frames might actually be broken and then facilitate a return. Then there were the stock outs and model changes which caused us to sell products that we couldn't actually get. And we also ran into trouble making sure that our shipping prices were right.

Now, none of this was back breaking or company destroying. However, it wasn't part time work either as is always claimed when drop shipping websites are put up for sale. If you have the patience and time to run a drop shipping company then it's really amazing what can be done. But, if you think it's just going to be a little side hobby to make some extra money, then maybe this will help you think it through a little more. Take it for what it's worth, though we plan to move away from the drop shipping model ourselves.

I’m not sure where to start with this review. I still have not got the wireless area of this frame figured out. I think there is an issue with my network and how I need to configure the router to talk to this frame. Look for an update on this review when I get that (if) I figure it out. That said, I for those look for ease of use, I’m not sure if this is the right frame.

Most digital cameras now offer a video capture feature. Depending on the size of your memory card and picture resolution, you can take up to three minutes of video at a time on your digital camera. I just rediscovered this feature. The video and audio quality from the still digital camera are pretty good, especially when you don’t have to lug a video camera along with you. The quality is equal if not better than my 2003 cannon zr45 digital video camera.