Are Polaroid digital photo frames worth buying?
Polaroid digital photo frames are one of the cheapest frames on the market – they pack the bare minimum in terms of features and functions. Cheap to mid-range digital frames are finding it harder to compete on today’s market due to their limited functionality when compared with the smartphones, tablets, TVs, and computers we’re so used to.
We seldom recommend going for a cheap digital frame, even for elderly users. Their lack of features, poor build quality, lackluster real-world performance, and difficulty of use are big letdowns. It’s almost always to save up longer and get a more premium frame like the Pix-Star that has plenty of features & functions – but more on that later.
Cheap digital frames like the Polaroid digital photo frames aren’t usually worth it, especially for families or anyone tech-savvy. Despite their low price, there isn’t anything of value. The resolution of the display is unbelievably low at a 480×234 – an extremely low value for modern users. Most of your photos will appear blurry and hard to see, regardless of the small 7-inch display.
The only way to send photos to these frames is by USB/SD card. It often doesn’t work well and you have hardly any control over the play order of slideshows started directly off the connected USB/SD card. With almost no internal storage, you need to leave the USB/SD card connected at all times to view the photos.
Videos & audio files can’t be played and you need to be directly in front of the display to see the photos. This is due to a very narrow viewing angle and a shallow viewing distance. This isn’t a digital photo frame you can see from across the room.
You can’t remotely control these frames and their interface aren’t very easy to navigate. It means they’re not a great choice for elderly users or busy families. There’s no way to create a family of connected frames and each Polaroid digital photo frame needs to be individually controlled & managed.
With the lack of features like Wi-Fi and cloud storage, these frames are missing almost everything that makes digital photo frames unique & functional. They don’t compete with premium frames in any shape or form and don’t have what it takes to compete in 2021 and beyond. These frames feel like something you’d have found 10-years ago. You’ll find them too limiting and difficult to use to justify – even at their super-low price.
How do Pix-Star frames compare with Polaroid digital photo frames?
Pix-Star’s frames are arguably the most versatile and popular digital photo frames on the market; whereas Polaroid digital photo frames are some of the cheapest and most basic. While the Polaroid name is recognizable, these digital frames bear no resemblance to the brand in terms of quality or user-friendliness – they don’t live up to the name.
Pix-Star’s frames are extremely capable thanks to features like extensive Wi-Fi connectivity and free-for-life cloud storage. You can send photos, videos, and audio messages to Pix-Star frames from anywhere in the world – even sending up to 250 photos in one go to several frames at the same time using the Pix-Star Snap mobile app.
Pix-Star’s large 10 or 15-inch displays use a versatile 4:3 aspect ratio and a 1024×768 panel. The images appear sharp and colors can be manually adjusted. The viewing angle is broad enough to huddle around the frame with the whole family and reminisce over your favorite memories.
With 8GB of internal storage & USB/SD card support, Pix-Star’s frames can hold all the photos you need. They’re automatically backed up to the cloud and can be managed remotely. Pix-Star’s frames let you manage & control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames – letting you adjust the frame’s settings, start & manage slideshows, make changes to both cloud & local storage, and more.
You can link photo albums from social media and photo-sharing sites like Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, Google Photos, Flickr, Dropbox, and more. These web albums are linked directly to your frame and saved to internal storage so that they can be viewed while the frame is offline. Web albums can be managed and new ones linked remotely – making the Pix-Star frames a wonderful choice for families.
How to send pictures to Polaroid digital photo frames?
Polaroid digital photo frames can only receive photos by USB/SD card. There are no photo-mail, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth options for receiving photos remotely or wirelessly. Make sure the photos you load onto the supported USB/SD card are in one of the frame’s supported file formats. Additionally, ensure that the USB/SD card is compatible with the Polaroid digital photo frame. Avoid USB/SD cards with more than 8GB of total storage space to avoid compatibility issues.
Insert the USB/SD card into the frame’s relevant port and give it time to register and read. This can take several minutes depending on the size and number of files on the USB/SD card. It’s also worth noting that these frames are likely to run into several compatibility issues due to their cheap price, slow speed, and limited software capabilities. It might take you quite a while to figure out what works best.
Can Polaroid digital photo frames play videos & audio?
Polaroid digital photo frames can’t play audio or video files. They’re limited to just playing photos sent to the frame in the correct & supported files formats. This isn’t unexpected as most cheap to mid-range digital photo frames can play videos or audio files. Very few of them have inbuilt speakers and most have very low-resolution displays & very limited internal storage space.
Only premium digital photo frames like the Pix-Star digital frames feature extensive video & audio support. You can play video clips, listen to web music & radio, audio messages, and even play songs over slideshows. Pix-Star’s frames have inbuilt speakers and can be connected to external speakers/headphones/earphones via the frame’s USB port or 3.5mm audio input port.
How long do Polaroid digital photo frames last?
Polaroid digital photo frames are likely to only last for a short couple of months. These are extremely cheap digital frames – a fact that’s reflected by their low build quality and very limited feature set. The display isn’t very durable and will likely be the first part of the frame to experience issues. Ensure that you check for defects and dead pixels on the display when you first buy the frame to avoid more issues further into their lifespan.
