This giveaway is now closed… thanks to everyone who entered and sent me their photos! I loved meeting you guys this way! The winner is “shelly aka allysmama”.

Yesterday, my family had an opportunity to attend a special karate-themed event (which I will talk more about at another time).  In that two-hour window of time, I took over 150 pictures.  While I do not claim to be a photographer, I like taking a LOT of pictures.  My husband actually teases me when we go on vacation because of the sheer amount of pictures I take.  And he has to be the one to delete the “less than perfect ones” because I simply don’t have the heart to do it (especially if they’re of my son).  That is the beauty of the modern, digital camera.  You can take a lot of pictures without worrying about the cost (or waste) of film.  The question then becomes, what do I do with all of those pictures?  To be honest, since going digital, we have more pictures.  Most of them are stored on our computers.  And sadly, most of them don’t get printed.  That is the unfortunate aspect of going digital.  We have tons and tons of really good pictures from vacations, family get togethers, and important occasions (like birthdays), and yet they’re sitting on a computer.  One of the ways we’ve managed to do something with those pictures is to invest in digital picture frames.  Right now we have two throughout our home and I’d love to eventually have one in each of our main rooms.  The beauty of digital frames is the ability to display more than one picture.

Choosing a digital frame is more complicated than buying the one on sale.  There are many factors to consider.  For example, storage capacity, resolution, and internet connectivity are just some of the features you might consider.  We recently had an opportunity to review a CEIVA Pro 80 Digital Photo Frame. The frames “work together with their PicturePlan Photo Delivery Service to create a unique photo sharing experience with family and friends.”  My husband’s entire family reside in the southeast.  This makes it difficult for them because they don’t see a lot of our little boy and rely heavily on video chats, phone calls, and pictures to keep up to date with him.  It also becomes a challenge to try and get pictures we’ve taken printed and then sent over to them on a regular basis.

Many digital frames on the market simply display pictures you’ve uploaded directly to the frame.  CEIVA offers the only connected digital frame on the market.  The frame has a built-in Media Server which means I can send and receive photos to my frame from my computer or from anyone else who I know with a CEIVA frame around the world. You simply need either a wireless or wired internet connection through your home internet service. If you don’t have internet, the frame will use a phone line to dial the PicturePlan service.

We actually received a frame for our home and one to give to a family member. So we mailed my in-laws the other frame so we could share pictures back and forth (although most of the sharing was done to them because they wanted pictures of our little boy).  It’s very easy to set-up.  You simply turn on the frame and choose the type of internet connection you use.  This is a great frame for grandma who doesn’t have an internet connection or isn’t super tech-savvy.  If we were given her internet information, we could have set the frame up for her from here (fortunately she has a tech-savvy husband).

One of the frame’s features is a high-res 8″ display ,which means the pictures look sharp.  You can also work directly with the frame by using the on-screen menus.  And you can change the look of the frame to suit the environment in which it will be placed by interchanging the faceplates.  But what really sets this frame apart from others is the PicturePlan service. This service allows you to send and receive photos from friends and family and display photos from memory cards or a media server set up on your home computer.  Every day your frame will connect to the internet to check for new pictures (we have ours set up to turn on at 7 am and off at 9 pm).  Once set up, this frame is the perfect, no-hassle solution for sharing your favorite photos.  The plan is free for the first year when you purchase the frame and then starts at $6.95 per month.

One of the features I find interesting is the ability to send photos from Facebook, Picassa, iPhone, iPhoto, email, or camera phone.  We live in a society that uses multiple forms of technology and social networking and I think this is a great feature of the frame.

The PicturePlan website is filled with tons of great editing tools so you can personalize your photos. Do everything from adding borders, messages, and titles to sending photos, cards, and greetings to family and friends…all with the touch of a button.

Another feature of PicturePlan is the ability to subscribe to a variety of channel feeds (like you subscribe to your favorite blog).  Everything from world news to local weather to sports and financial news is available through the PicturePlan service.  I subscribed to local weather, US news, calendar, and recipes.

This is a really great gift for family members who live far away, particularly grandparents who like to see frequent updated pictures of their grandchildren.

The CEIVA Pro 80 Digital Photo Frame with One Year PicturePlan retails for $179.99 and is available online.  Right now CEIVA has a couple of offers I recommend checking out.  First, if you sign up for their newsletter before December 14, 2009, you’ll be entered to win a CEIVAshare Twin Pack. Secondly, if you own a CEIVA frame, you could win a Nikon D3000 by referring 10 friends. Your friends will get a $20 discount towards a purchase at CEIVA just for the referral.  Be sure to participate before December 15, 2009.

Win It! One of you will win a CEIVA Pro 80 Digital Photo Frame with One Year PicturePlan.  Simply leave me a comment after visiting the site with a feature you like about the frame or PicturePlan.  Comments will close on December 1, 2009 at 10 PM PST. One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Bonus:  Send a picture to my frame (please make sure it’s appropriate and g-rated).  It could be a favorite destination or food…anything- Make me laugh! The address is  CB.XDYDBCE6   {at}    ceivamobile   [dot] com

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Disclosure: I did not receive compensation for this review.  I did receive a product, courtesy of the company in order to facilitate my review.