Designed by "master of minimalism," Martin Szekely

Oct 24, 2008 06:26 GMT  ·  By

Since the competition on the digital photo frame market has reached some pretty high levels (although the actual sales are not exactly as high as some of the manufacturers might have expected), the only way in which one device can differentiate itself from all of its other competitors is to provide some unique element or combination of elements that are not encountered in the case of other similar products. And that's exactly what the Parrot company has managed to achieve with its new Specchio model, since this particular digital photo frame combines an extremely attractive external design with a very interesting and complex set of connectivity options.

The first thing that will draw just about anyone's attention to this digital frame is its very eye-catching, polished exterior, designed by Martin Szekely, a contemporary well-known French artist acknowledged worldwide as a "master of minimalism". Actually, the main idea of this frame is to double as a mirror when not switched on, thus enhancing its level of functionality.

As mentioned earlier, the Specchio digital photo frame delivers a very comprehensive set of connectivity options, most of which don't require any wires. Thus, the device incorporates Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, as well as a highly innovative new technology, dubbed NFC – Near Field Communication – which allows users to automatically transfer photos from their mobile phones to the digital frame by simply sliding an NFC mobile phone against the back of the Parrot Specchio. Besides all of these wireless interfaces, the device also sports two "classical" ones, in the form of the mini-USB port and the SD card reader, which can be used for transferring files into its internal memory, which can hold up to 1500 digital photos.

Furthermore, the Parrot Specchio is more than just a display; it's actually a social-networking device. That's because it provides an e-mail function, which allows it to automatically receive and display pictures that are sent by the owner's friends or family, as well as those that are uploaded onto community sites (such as Picasa, Flickr, Fotolog etc.).

The Parrot Specchio will be available worldwide in November 2008 and will have a recommended retail price of $500, which makes it a bit more expensive than most other products of the same size one can find on the market.

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