Home Appliances Get Digital Photo Frames

Digital photo frames are reaching home appliances like cordless phones and refrigerators, as will be evident at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show to be held in Las Vegas between January 7 to 10.

In an attempt to make refrigerators a central information hub, Whirlpool is plugging digital photo frames on its refrigerators, to display digital images and provide news and weather updates to users. (For more information on digital picture frames, see "Digital Picture Frames Show Off Your Photos.")General Electric is putting digital photo frames on its upcoming PhotoPhones, which will display images of callers on an LCD screen on the phone's base station. Also at CES, SentrySafe is expected to introduce SentrySafe Fire-Safe/Waterproof Hard Drives, a hard drive with a solid enclosure that protects data from fire and water disasters.

Whirlpool's Centralpark Connection

Gadgets in a refrigerator are not new -- LG Electronics' LSC27990TT refrigerator has a built-in 15-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) HDTV for TV and video playback. Whirlpool is now replicating the concept of making refrigerators a hub of home activity through its Centralpark Connection effort, which will mesh consumer electronics into refrigerators.

The first fruit of the effort is Whirlpool's GD5VVAXT refrigerator, which will be available with a removable digital photo frame from Ceiva. The photo frame, which sits in front of the refrigerator, replaces magnets used to hold printed pictures, according to the company. An internal Wi-Fi adapter allows users to send pictures wirelessly to the digital photo frame, or get users weather and news updates.

This is just the start, Whirlpool says, as its refrigerators will soon charge and play music from MP3 players or satellite radios, among other devices. Whirlpool is expected to announce partnerships at CES with companies to help turn the refrigerator into a digital hub.

The GD5VVAXT refrigerator is available for US$1,999 in the U.S.

Fuse Your Cell and Home Phone

General Electric at CES is expected to announce its new PhotoPhone, a desk phone that displays the image of a caller on a base station's LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. The phone also doubles as a digital picture frame, and it can pull thousands of images from a memory card plugged into the phone's flash card slot, according to the company. The company is expected to further detail the phone at CES.

Also on display at CES will be GE's Cell Fusion cordless phone, with which users can receive and make calls from either a landline or a cell phone. The phone has one phone jack to connect to a landline and a Bluetooth interface that communicates with up to two Bluetooth-compatible cell phones in range, according to GE. After the Bluetooth cell phone is paired with the cordless phone, the handset can make, answer and display Caller ID of cell phone calls. It also conferences cell phone and landline calls, according to GE. It is available for around $149 from online retailer Buy.com.

Waterproof Your Hard Drive

At CES, SentrySafe is expected to announce SentrySafe Fire-Safe/Waterproof Hard Drives, which protects data on hard drives from fire and water disasters. Sitting in an enclosure that is both fire and water-resistant, the magnetic drive can resist fire up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit (843 degrees Celsius) for around 30 minutes and stay underwater for close to 24 hours, according to the company. The drives will be available in capacities of 80G bytes and 160G bytes, priced at $260 and $340 respectively. It provides additional data protection with data encryption and system restoration software.

Fuel Cell Power Pack

Fuel cells will soon reach the masses with Medis Technologies' Medis 24-7 Power Pack, which the company claims gives cell phones 30 hours of talk time and 60 to 80 hours of audio play time on an iPod. Using its proprietary DLFC (direct liquid fuel cell technology) as a fuel cell-based power source, the company claims it is designed to power and charge the most common handheld electronics like portable media players and handheld devices. It weighs about 185 grams and is slightly larger than a deck of cards, making it convenient to carry.

Two components -- the fuel cell product and the cartridge -- combine to recharge or power devices. Once the fuel cell cartridge is loaded into the Power Pack, the cell extracts fuel from a cartridge and generates power immediately. The starter kit will retail for around $29.99 and replacement packs will cost $19.99. The company says it will be available online or through retailers, including Kensington.

The company was declared as having one of the more innovative eco-friendly technologies at CES.