Is the Kodak Pulse digital frame any good?
When they first released, Kodak Pulse digital frames weren’t bad at all. They offered a feature set and performance similar to that of some top digital frames, but at a lower price. This drew a lot of attention and made the frame quite popular for elderly users – much like the Pix-Star frame is today.
With features like the ability to control your frame remotely through the web interface, connect to Wi-Fi, send pictures to the frame’s dedicated email address, and a motion sensor, Kodak Pulse digital frames did what you’d expect from a great digital frame.
That being said, there were some issues. First of all, Kodak Pulse digital frames use touchscreens – a feature that many of the best frames avoid for good reason. Long-term durability was a central issue and there were many complaints about the touchscreen becoming the first part of the frame to stop working. On top of this, the touchscreen wasn’t as responsive as you’d expect from a frame this price. You would also have to spend quite a bit of time wiping and cleaning fingerprints off the screen. They were very noticeable and took away from the viewing experience.
On the note of viewing experience, Kodak Pulse digital frames have a very small screen. Their 10-inch model only has a screen size of around 7-inches. This is quite a bit lower than many top frames like the Pix-Star that have 10 & 15-inch displays.
Another major issue was the small internal storage of only 512MB. This is tiny compared to the 8GB local storage of most premium digital frames. It means that you can’t hold nearly as many pictures on the frame and need to constantly upload new pictures to keep things fresh.
Unfortunately, none of this matters as Kodak has stopped producing and supporting this frame for several years. While it’s still possible to buy a Kodak Pulse digital frame, the lack of support means that you can no longer connect to Wi-Fi or activate the frame through the web interface. As a result, the frame loses almost all of the features that helped it compete.
You can no longer send photos to the frame via email or through the web interface. Features like remotely controlling your frame no longer work either. Only very basic functions are available and the only way to send photos to the frame is via USB/SD card. Due to the severely limited internal storage, even this feature isn’t very useful.
In summary, before Kodak stopped supporting their Pulse digital frames, they weren’t bad choices. While they lacked a couple of features such as multimedia playback, sufficient internal storage, a mobile app, and so on, they still offered decent value for money. Now that the line has been discontinued and is no longer supported, they are nearly as valuable as they once were. They even struggle to compete with low to mid-range digital frames and frames that don’t use Wi-Fi. You’d be better off spending the same amount or perhaps a little extra to get a premium, top-of-the-line digital frame like the Pix-Star – but more on that next.
How does the Kodak Pulse digital frame compare with the Pix-Star frame?
At face value, Kodak’s Pulse digital frame seems to be not far off what you get with the Pix-Star frame. There are still a couple of key differences worth noting though.
First of all, the Pix-Star user experience and ease of use are one of the best on the market. You get a smooth and fluid user interface on the frame, a well-designed and intuitive mobile app/web interface. It’s a great choice for grandparents and users that aren’t tech-savvy.
Pix-Star also has a more robust feature set. You can view the weather; listen to web radio & music, view photo albums from social media accounts and photo-sharing platforms, play games, and much more. Not only does Pix-Star offer a richer feature set, but they’re also easier to use. You can control almost anything on your frame (or any connected frame) through the web interface.
Multi-frame control lets you control up to 25 connected frames (and allow remote control) through the web interface. Here you can manage cloud storage, start slideshows, create new folders and playlists, etc. The mobile app makes it quick and easy to send photos and other media directly to your frame in just a few steps. You can even select photos and videos from your phone’s gallery to your frame.
It’s the combination of all these features and full access to Wi-Fi and cloud compatibility that give the Pix-Star frame the edge over the Kodak Pulse digital frame. When you consider the current state of the Kodak Pulse digital picture frame and that they no longer their frame, it’s a massive win for the Pix-Star frame. Without Wi-Fi or access to the web interface, Kodak Pulse digital frames don’t have nearly as much on offer as they used to.
Your money is much better spent with the Pix-Star frame – plus you get unlimited cloud storage, a sleek and simple user experience, and an enhanced viewing experience thanks to the larger and higher resolution displays. Pix-Star’s frame is one of the best on the market and well worth the investment. It quickly becomes an important part of family life once you start using it.
What went wrong with the Kodak Pulse digital frame?
Kodak Pulse digital frames are no longer produced. Additionally, they are no longer supported by Kodak and as such, you can no longer connect the frame to Wi-Fi or activate it through the web portal. As a result, you can’t use any Wi-Fi-dependent feature and the only way to send pictures to the frame is via a USB/SD card.
How can I send photos to a Kodak Pulse digital frame?
Now that Kodak Pulse digital frames are no longer supported by Kodak, you can no longer send photos to the frame through the email function or web interface. Currently, the only way to send pictures to a Kodak Pulse digital frame is by loading them onto a USB or SD card, inserting them into the frame, and copying them across to the frame’s internal memory. Given that the onboard memory is only 512MB, you can only hold around 4,000 photos (if the resolutions of the loaded photos match the frame’s native resolution).
Do Kodak Pulse digital frames have touchscreens?
Kodak Pulse digital frames use touchscreens. Unfortunately, touchscreens aren’t the best choice for digital frames as they are exceptionally fingerprint-prone and need to be frequently cleaned to keep the already small screen viewable. There are also several long-term durability and longevity concerns with touchscreen, along with the far higher price for touchscreen displays.
