If you are around my age (50-something ugh!), you’ll remember how we used to enjoy precious photographs.
Back in the day you had to purchase film for your camera. Once the roll was finished you had to take it some where to get developed. Often that took several days, unless you went to one of those photo express booths (remember those?).
I always opened up the envelope of photos as soon as I got into my car. I could never wait to check them out. There was always a few that had to be tossed out for a variety of reasons.
After you picked out your favorite photos, you put them in a photo album. When you wanted to relive memories you’d simply open up your photo albums.
We have more than two dozen photo albums. My husband used to create a new album each year. He’s very organized. The only problem with that is that you’d have to know what year’s album to look through if you were looking for a favorite picture.
Some of your best photos were most likely displayed in frame (these days you can have them made into a variety of prints including canvas, wood and metal).
I love seeing photos of my family and friends. But sometimes I want to see more of my favorite photos. There are only so many frames you can display. And if you are like us and live in a tiny home (condo, townhome, trailer…) there are only so many frames you can have. That is why I appreciate the Nixplay digital photo frame.
Digital photo frames are not something new. They have been around for years. Some frames stand out more than others.
I was sent to review the Nixplay Iris digital frame. I received the Peach Copper color. It’s not my first choice (I would have preferred silver or bronze), but it’s grown on me.
Here is a brief video about the Nixplay Iris digital frame.
The Nixplay Iris is one of their Wi-Fi enabled frames, meaning that you can do things on the frame from an app on your phone. You can control your frame, as well as upload photos, via the free Nixplay app.
What I like about this frame is that you don’t have to go out and buy pricey (and tiny!) SD cards to insert into the frame or transfer photos to your frame with a flash drive. Instead, photos are added to your frame using the app. That means you can transfer your favorite photos on the various social media platforms directly to your frame. Considering a lot of people use Facebook and Instagram to share photos, it makes perfect sense that you can transfer photos from those platforms onto your frame.
You can also access your photos from various devices using the Cloud. The Nixplay Iris digital frame also comes with 10 GB of free cloud storage. I’m not sure how many photos that would hold, but I would have to guess into the thousands.
First the techie details.
Setting this up took a little bit because we first had to set the device up on our router. My husband is a computer tech and computer safety and security are important to him (as they should be for everyone). I’m not sure what he had to do but it had something to do with a firewall and mac address and turning something off in the settings.
Once we got the frame set up with our Wi-Fi there was just some simply registration stuff to complete and we were all set to go.
I should add that the Nixplay Iris comes with different plugs that can be used in the U.S. and abroad. You should select the correct plug for your area. Plugging the plug into the frame was easy.
The frame comes with a decent length plug, which helped because the two places we tried out the frame required a good length to it.
The frame comes with a built in stand, but it’s not what you would normally expect. The plug also acts as a stand. The part of the plug closest to the frame is made of some kind of a sturdy “wire” that allows it to be bent in different directions depending on whether or not you want the frame to be horizontal or vertical. The downside to this is that you cannot hang it on the wall (it wouldn’t lie flush against the wall). I would have loved to have been able to hand this up, but that’s OK.
The frame and the app also have to be synced together, but that was easy enough to do. Even I could do that, and I’m far from a “techie.”
The frame also comes with a remote control, which is a unique feature. The remote allows you to navigate with your frame including play, stop, pause, switching between playlists, settings and more.
Once everything is set up you are ready to add photos. To do this simply open up your app and start adding photos.
There are different features within the app, so I would suggest playing around a bit to familiarize yourself with all that you can do. Take for example playlists. You can create different playlists to show on your frame. One example I wanted to set up (I’m still trying to track down all the photos) is a playlist of holiday photos of my family throughout the years. I want them to play on the frame for the holiday season. I think that would be a fun thing to do. My family and I can talk about the various photos that appear and relive fond memories of past Christmases.
Here is a REALLY cool thing about Nixplay Iris. You instantly share photos to anyone else that you are friends (or family) with who also has one of the frames. This is perfect for loved ones who live far away, like grandparents.
My father and stepmother live in Florida now (we’re in New York). They have grandchildren (my kids) here in New York and the rest of their grandchildren in Indiana. If everyone had one of these frames we could all send photos to Grandpa and Grandma instantly.
You can also send photos to others around the world. All they need is one of the frames and Wi-Fi. This would be great for those in the military who are stationed at bases overseas and want to keep connected with loved ones back home.
Not all older people use Facebook or Instagram. Some are not into computers either, so the frame is a wonderful way to provide them with pictures of you and your family. You can also choose who to share photos with.
I’m just touching the surface of the Nixplay Iris. I’m still familiarizing myself with it. I’m sure there are a lot more “bells and whistles” I have yet to discover.
This would make a truly wonderful gift for your loved ones. It’s a great way to feel connected, regardless of the miles in between you.
It’s also a great way for you to enjoy your precious moments, rather than leave photos buried in photo albums or lost in folders on your computer.
Nixplay has other available digital frames, including ones that are not on Wi-Fi.
If you are interested in learning more about Nixplay Iris, visit Nixplay.com. The brand can also be found on social media. All of their links are found at the bottom of their website.
Would you like to own a Nixplay Iris digital frame? Do you know someone who would appreciate one as a gift this holiday season? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.