CEIVA 8-inch Digital Photo Frame with Card Reader

This is the worst disappointment to discover that the picture frame, unlike most that we could have bought instead simply does not work without "activating" it. That is, you stick in your memory card, but then nothing happens, unless you subscribe to a service over internet, phone, whatever. This way you could activate a card reader that you have already paid for. This was not at all our intention when we purchased this product as the package makes no mention of such "bundling". Now I am stuck with a gift that was returned to us from a grandmother, who could not make it work. Neither could I. I will try returning it to where we bought it and do my best to warn others about this rip off.

I got very excited when I received one as a gift. But, after receiving the frame, my friend commented that she'd exchanged each of 3 that she'd bought (for us and family), since each had arrived broken.

I should have listened more carefully as I bought 2 more for my family and had to return each one as well. After that, each frame needed replacement parts at least one time each -- mine needed replacement parts 3 times.

Finally, after one year, it completely died and I got tired of calling Ceiva. Since this is also a subscription service, Ceiva had the nerve to call me 3 times asking if I wanted to renew my annual service. I took the opportunity to tell the customer service rep all the troubles and frustration I'd experienced. She listened sympathetically and said "you'll definitely hear back from us within a week". It is now 6-months later, Ceiva never called me back and I've since thrown away my frame. My family has done the same due to frustration.

Save your money and DON'T BUY THIS FRAME. There are others that are less expensive and higher quality. The Ceiva website idea is a gimmick that is too expensive and the frame is very very low quality that breaks repeatedly. You will be disappointed.

I have been a Ceiva owner for many years starting with the original Ceiva 1 frame. I now own this model as well as a CeivaShare frame that I use at work.

The image quality is excellent and the PicturePlan subscription is optional although you will be missing the best features of a Ceiva frame if you don't subscribe. I would at least try the free trial they offer. The PicturePlan subscription allows you to send pictures to anyone anywhere in the world via the internet or cellphone. You can send pictures to other Ceiva frames or to computers via email. The ability to share photos amongst other Ceiva frames owned by friends and family is what makes the service unique. Most competing digital picture frames just use card readers or require you to upload to a web site with limited sharing functionality. Ceiva offers unlimited storage and frame management on their web site but you can just as easily send a picture directly to the designated frame you have in mind bypassing the web site. You can also subscribe to free "channels" for other content delivered daily to your frame. Ceiva warrants the frame indefinitely with an active subscription. A prepaid subscription runs $6.95 per month.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a great gift for older relatives that are not computer savvy but would enjoy receiving new family photos without any effort on their part. They can even press a button and easily order a print copy of any photo on their frame.

The frame will automatically connect to a local or toll free number nightly to download new pictures or, with an optional adapter, it can connect wirelessly. Depending on the model, the capacity is 40 or 50 photos with display intervals of your choosing.

Overall, I highly recommend this product. In addition to our two frames we have friends and relatives that own a total of eight more so our "Ceiva Family" keeps growing. I have found their U.S based customer service to be very helpful although I doubt you will need to call them as the product is very simple to operate. I own a non-Ceiva frame as well that I received as a gift and there is no comparison in terms of image quality and ease of use.

I've been delighted with the Ceiva 3. My mother has had a Ceiva receiver for many years, starting with their first receivers. She loves to show her pictures to visitors and is always excited to see new postings. It took me a bit to figure out how to get out of demo mode, but part of that was simply learning how the new menus work. The picture is awesome, it reads my memory cards well, and the photo service continues to function very well.

I purchased a Ceiva 2 for my inlaws a few years ago -- will have to upgrade them at the next opportunity.

I can't tell you how much I wanted this to work. Unfortunately I couldn't even get it to read a memory card, let alone start with the dialing-in function. (And I'm not inexperienced with these things.) When you start up the frame it says something like "Demonstration slideshow is on. Refer to manual for how to turn it off." And of course there is NO mention in the manual about it. I figured out how to turn off the demo but it still would not read, my memory card. I tried it a bunch of times, tried powering the frame on and off with and without the card, consulted the manual to no avail, and finally put it back in the box. I'm returning it tomorrow.
Fortunately I had also bought the Phillips frame, and I popped my memory card in and it worked right off the bat, and the picture looks great. Unfortunately it doesn't have the dial-in function but I'd rather have something reliable that works. Memory cards and flash drives are cheap enough that I can easily send them to grandma to switch out whenever I have new pictures.