[CES 2009] Hands-On With Kodak
By Andrew Liszewski
While they didn’t come up with the original idea for OLEDs, Eastman Kodak is actually credited with inventing the first diode device in the 80’s which paved the way for the OLED displays we see hitting the market these days. So it makes sense that Kodak would be one of the first companies to produce a consumer-ready OLED display, but unlike Sony, they’ve incorporated the technology into a wireless digital photo frame that puts every other digital frame on the market to shame.
Now I’m not going to bore you by raving about the colors, contrast ratio or thinness of Kodak’s frame, since you’re probably already well aware of the advantages of OLED screens, but I will say that it’s great to see this technology slowly but steadily making its way into consumer’s hands.
The Kodak OLED Wireless Frame comes with your standard features like memory cards slots and support for the most popular photo and video formats in use today, but it also includes wifi (hence the ‘wireless’ part) for streaming your media directly from your PC. The 7.6-inch, 800×480 pixel display wouldn’t turn many heads were it not OLED-based, but I will say I really like the UI Kodak has included which relies on a touch sensitive bezel with illuminated ‘buttons’ for making selections. And while the screen itself isn’t touch-sensitive, it at least helps to keep it fingerprint free. Of course since we’re just seeing OLED technology hitting the market, the Kodak OLED Wireless Frame comes with a $999.95 price tag, but it’s pretty much guaranteed those prices will eventually drop.
