In preparation for our video review (coming soon!), we’ve been having a fiddle with the i-mate Momento 100. It’s a digital photo frame with a difference; WiFi is built in, so instead of just showing pictures from memory card it can stream them from your PC wirelessly or even download them from the internet.
The companion Momento Live service allows you to send images to yourself or others who have signed up- either by email or MMS - or you can set up PictureStreams that update automatically via RSS from sites like Flickr. It can even function as a Windows Vista Sideshow device, so you can install small apps - similar to Sidebar gadgets - on it that display info from your PC.
The Momento 100 has a decent sized 10” display that's bright enough to view in most environments. The resolution only stretches to 800 x 480 pixels, which is a little on the small size - but given the screen area represents that of a 5x8.5in photo the low resolution isn't that noticeable.
It has a multi-format reader that will accept MMC, SD, xD, Smart Media or Memory Stick cards or you can plug in a USB drive. If you're running Windows Media Player 11 then you can use the media sharing facilities to display images stored on your PC on the screen.
All interaction is via the included remote control - so if you lose it, then you won't be able to do anything until you get a replacement. It's also a bit sluggish to respond to commands, which is annoying.
You also need to subscribe to the Momento Live service to get access to all its features. You get a free three month trial included, but after that it's £19.99 if you want to continue. You can still view images on your PC without the Momento Live subscription, though.
If you want more out of your digital photo frame than just the ability to show images from a memory card then the Momento has some great features to offer. It'll happily stream images from your PC and the Momento Live service is well thought out, although it's a shame it will cost you an extra £19.99 a year. Available for £199.99, it's reasonably priced and you get additional features such as Vista Sideshow to play with. Just make sure you don't lose the remote.
Momento Live
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It's a shame you need to subcribe to use all of the features. I can't see why you need to pay to pull an RSS. There's no way to use pictures not stored on the frame or a card/USB key unless you buy into the service or leave a PC on permanently.
I sent mine back. I couldn't access Flikr (I thought that would be free) and it locked up frequently when setting up Wi-Fi. I thought it was faulty.
Nearly, but not quite.