T-Mobile launches unique digital photo frame

When we first heard T-Mobile was unveiling a digital photo frame, our reaction was "meh." Why? Well, for one, what hasn’t been done before? And secondly, we live in Canada, so why should we care? But then we found out what it can do – and hopefully we’ll get this cool gadget in the Great White North sometime soon.

Announced yesterday, the T-Mobile cameo is a unique digital photo frame in that it ships with a dedicated phone number and email address on the carrier’s wireless network. So, a camera phone owner can now snap a photo and send the pic via MMS (picture messaging) or email to the digital frame, and within seconds will appear on its 7-inch LCD screen (720 x 480 pixels).

So imagine giving your parents, who live in Miami, one of these frames as a holiday gift. Even though you live in, say, Portland, you can update her frame with photos of the grandkids with a push of a button on your phone, anytime and anywhere. To avoid long distance charges, the phone number associated with the leather-trimmed frame will be the same area code as your T-Mobile phone number, says the carrier.

While you need to be a T-Mobile subscriber to buy this $99 frame, the cameo works with any mobile phone that can take and send picture messages or emails, regardless of network. A monthly fee of $9.99 keeps the cameo’s phone number and email address activated to accept images remotely — but as with other digital frames, this gadget also houses a USB port and microSD memory card slot to transfer photos, as well.

Manufactured for T-Mobile by Parrot, the cameo can also display slideshows, plus photos are automatically rotated and resized to suit the frame’s orientation (vertical or horizontal).

Hey, this could be a cool gift from you to an American relative, no?