Sindre Lia takes on Nokia's somewhat-inaptly named Image Frame SU-7, finding an intriguing concept which has a long way to go before it's of use to average Joe.
When thinking of an electronic image frame, chances are what's conjured is a digital alternative to pictures hung on the wall - meaning colour and clarity akin to the real thing. Nokia's Image Frame SU-7, unfortunately, doesn't even come close. What it does do, however, is allowing for instant visualization of what family, friends and loved ones are doing in a large format - yet a good concept is hampered by a poor display.
Where its predecessor, the SU-5, only accepted pictures to be transferred via infrared, the Nokia Image Frame SU-7 opens up a whole new world by offering a SIM card slot and MMS reception as well. Acting as a standalone MMS receiver and viewer, the Nokia Image Frame SU-7 measures 17 x 12.9 x 12.3 cm and weighs a hefty 525 g.
The SIM card is easily inserted into the SU-7, however the integrated GSM radio didn't activate itself until we tried calling the Image Frame. Ideally, the SU-7 should also be delivered with predefined MMS settings, although receiving MMS settings Over-The-Air appeared to work fine despite a somewhat cumbersome initiation procedure.
The most important part of the Image Frame, its 5.1" display, did unfortunately not impress us at all. Being a STN display capable of displaying 4,096 colours at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, its viewing angle and quality is best described as sub-mediocre. In fact, it struck us as a large version of displays typically found in early Series 40 mobile phones.
The process of receiving and converting a picture - either by MMS or Infrared was on the contrary a smooth and trouble-free process. Managing transferred pictures was a simple enough task, however it should be noted that the SU-7 only supports JPEG and GIF pictures with a resolution of 1024 x 728 pixels or lower. Also, its memory is limited to 50 pictures - so don't count on making it a persistent showroom for your vast collection of cameraphone snaps.
Availablity
The Nokia Image Frame SU-7 is currently availale across Europe and North America at approximately €350 EUR or $450 USD.
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