Kodak EasyShare EX1011 review

Kodak's 10in model is, along with the equivalent Philips frame, the largest frame we've examined this month. It's considerably cheaper than the snazzier 10in Philips, however, at £118 as opposed to £143.

Like Kodak's smaller 8in offering, the EX1011 is wireless and just as simple to use. The onscreen menus are easy to navigate and, although entering network keys with the remote is ponderous, the ability to display photos using Windows Media Player, as well as adding photos in the normal way using memory cards and USB thumbdrives, makes it highly flexible.

While there was a pronounced jump in resolution (and therefore picture quality) from the 7in to 8in Kodak frames, the pixel count of 800 x 480 stays the same for the move to 10in. Image quality is maintained at a high level, though. The only detectable change is a slight increase in blur, but we could see this only when we examined pictures close-up. In normal use, it's an outstanding performer.

Kodak's proprietary EasyShare software is the best suite we've seen included with a frame this month. The program allows for some basic image editing, and is far more useful than the mere browsing options offered by other manufacturers' PC software.

As with the other Kodak frames, it isn't particularly flash to look at, but that barely matters when the core of the product performs so well. Image quality is almost on a par with that of the smaller models, with the bonus of a couple of extra inches. A wide range of features adds versatility, and its low price cements the Kodak's place as this month's Labs champion.

Author: Mike Jennings