ALBO : Live from Sanyo's Press Conference: Home Network Viewer Hands-on

David's back from a Sanyo press conference where they introduced a stylish device, the Home Network Viewer, or ALBO. Thank you Sanyo, and Makoto Nojima (Sanyo staff), for inviting us!



ALBO is actually a digital photo frame with an original retro design, far from the digital frames normally seen.

It's equipped with some nice features, like Wi-Fi b/g (to receive RSS-feeds), a 7-Inch LCD screen (800x480), 256MB of internal memory, WinCE 5.0 OS, a slideshow mode with image display special effects, and infrared sensor for transferring pictures from a mobile phone. It can also receive emails, and the frame can be rotated for viewing pictures in full screen.

It's compatible with the Picasa Web Album, Photo Warehouse, SD / SDHC / Memory Stick Duo / Memory Stick Duo Pro card, and MP3 / WMA / WAV audio files.

According to David there are a few drawbacks. Like the new MacBook Pro, the screen is too glossy, and David also regrets there's no weather forecast function. Honestly, how useful is this function when most of the time forecasts here in Japan are false?

For those interested in the Home Network Viewer, you can get it for 40,000 Yen (350€).