If you aren't tired of accessing Facebook and Pandora through your phone, laptop or Chumby, there's yet another gadget that promises to help you stay constantly plugged in to the electronic universe.
HP launched a new category of devices called DreamScreens that are a cross between the traditional digital picture frames and PC displays.
DreamScreens can connect to a wireless or wired network, allowing users to access their Facebook feeds, listen to music through Pandora or check photos through Snapfish, among other things. The idea is to provide built-in widgets that can bring information that users would otherwise have to go to their PCs for, says HP.
"Constant, always-on access to friends, information and entertainment is a common expectation today," says Satjiv Chahil senior vice president, worldwide marketing, with HP. "With DreamScreen, social media, web services and digital entertainment can be enjoyed in more areas of the home."
The screens, which will start at $250 for a 10-inch display, come with 2 GB of built-in memory. (HP also offers a 13-inch version.) Customers can load digital content using a USB drive or most types of flash memory cards, says HP.
But so far, widgets available for the DreamScreen are limited to weather, Facebook, Pandora and SmartRadio, a service that aggregates streams of live net broadcasts and a few other selections. HP says it plans to introduce more widgets that users can add to the screen. But unless HP can have a thriving app store that offers a wide variety of programs from gaming to productivity tools, the HP DreamScreen seems pretty limited in its usefulness.
Another glaring omission is the lack of a touchscreen. Using the display requires pressing buttons on the bottom of the display or clicking the bundled remote. Either way, its not as elegant a solution as a touchscreen.
Bottom line: The DreamScreen is not a tablet by any stretch. It's a sophisticated digital picture frame.
So if you want another gadget to surf Facebook, may we suggest the upcoming Motorola Cliq instead?
Check out more photos of the DreamScreen below.
Photos: HP
