Rating: 
Summary: My Mom Thinks I'm a Genius
Review: I bought a model 1 for my mom more than 3 years ago and it has worked without any problems. Get one for your Mom and you will be an Mench too.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a geeks observation
Review: Notice that they made this thing connect to a local number, which like in the old time we used to connect to a BBS instead of the internet...
this means that the buyer of this thing will have to pay them and it will only work with Ceiva network. however, I would wait a bit... it will not take long before such digital frame will be able to connect and do the exact same thing using.. (drums please...) the Internet O-: what an amazing thing ha? and not only that, it will also be adjustable so you can use any site and not just the site of the company that made the digital frame...
They should make money for selling the frame, I see no reason to pay a monthly fee to get my pic downloaded to the frame. do you pay to OPhoto, yahoo, clubPhoto etc' to store your pictures? didn't think so, it is not that hard to make this frame download pictures from such a site instead of Ceiva network.
This is a short living product. mark my words.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Product!
Review: I bought this for my Mom for Christmas and she LOVES! I live in Ca and she and the rest of my family lives in VA. Now she can see me everday! I take lots of pictures and keep her connected to my life this way! Its a great gift for families who are spread out.I had some questions about the service, setup etc and the customer support department was so helpful and knowledgeable. I really felt like they were on top of things! I think anyone who wants to stay connected to their families should go purchase one!
Rating:
Summary: CEIVA Rocks!!
Review: My wife and I just bought one of these for my parents, who live in Chicago (we are in California). When our twin boys were born earlier this month, we started sending daily pictures of the boys to my parents' frame. They love it! My folks aren't very technologically-saavy, so the fact that they can just wake up and look at new photographs is fantastic. My father hasn't been able to visit yet, so his entire experience of his grandsons has been through his CEIVA. I've read some of the reviews here, and I have to disagree with some of them. I have always found CEIVA's Customer Care team extremely helpful. Granted, you might have a significant hold time if you decide to call in the day after Christmas =-), but then again, all of their on-hold messages tell you this, and recommend that you contact them via email. I've usually gotten an email response from them within their stated turnaround times of 48 to 72 hours. Keep in mind that online review sites like this one are typically where disgruntled customers go to vent their steam, so the fact that CEIVA's reviews are still overwhelmingly positive really testify to the strength of their product and their support staff. I mean, look at some of the idiotic comments some of the other posters have made-- "Gee, it doesn't work in Canada and I bought one without looking that up first. Man, am I pissed!" Some people will never be satisfied. How many other companies: * offer an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee?
* base their entire business on helping families stay connected?
* offer extended support hours during the holidays?
* respond to email within 2 to 3 days, including weekends? If I sound like a cheerleader, it's because we have had such a fantastic experience of this product. The 30-day return policy makes it a completely no-risk purchase, and once you try it out for a day, you will never want to take it back. Before purchasing the CEIVA frame, I checked out some of the other models out there. CEIVA is the only digital photo frame that allows you to share pictures over the 'Net. The next most-popular model is the Pacific Digital photo frame. I tried contacting their Customer Care team to see what their response time was. Not only was their "Chat with an Operator Now" link pointing to a dead web page, but when I called their support number, I was only able to leave a voice mail. I got a call back later that day (about 8 hours later, in fact), and spoke with a young man who seemed to know nothing at all about their products. (Here is the link to that other company, by the way: http://www.pacificdigitalcorp.com/index.htm) It's a joke... talk about a lack of Customer Service! If you want to check out the CEIVA, it's easy-- try one under the 30-day return policy and see if you like it. And shoot their Customer Care team an email and see how long it takes them to get back to you. My mom and dad love waking up each day to look at new pictures of their grandchildren, and I couldn't be happier with my choice of Christmas gift.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product, but please read the information on it.
Review: This has to be one of the best products that I have ever bought. I gave one to both sets of grandparents this year for christmas. They both love it. I have had no problems at all and I am very happy that I made the initial investment in this product. Please understand that this product runs about $150, and it also requires a subscription. They do not try to hide this from you. You also have the option to purchase an extended warranty (which I recommend doing). Other than that this is great. You can store your pictures on their website and send them as you need to. My grandparents look forward to waking up every morning to see their new pictures. I can't say enough about it.
Rating:
Summary: The best way to stay in touch!
Review: This experience has been one of the best ever! CEIVA has done a fantastic job with their new Ceiva digital photo receiver. If you have family on the other side of the country, and want to stay connected to their lives like never before........get this product! You definitly do NOT need to be a technical person to use this thing. Once your Ceiva Receiver is delivered, you'll have to register it to the Ceiva Network. I actually signed up for my free account, and then just registered it once the product arrived. By the way, I learned later that everyone needs an account at Ceiva, so you may as well set up your member account while you're waiting. Registering the Receiver is quick. You just need the 12 digit serial number and information like the phone number it's going to dial from. This was the same as my Earthlink account (selecting local numbers to dial into the provider). You have to select a subscription plan to receive pictures, but they have some great rates ($7.95 a month). Anyway, once it's registered you can just use it, or get as fancy as you like. They have some great features that allow you to have the lcd screen turn on and off automatically, picture rotation times, and more. You also have the ability to put text messages on your pictures, customizing them with whatever greeting you want. You can even turn a picture into a digital postcard. Sending pictures to the Receiver you have the option to send one,or up to 30 at a time. All the web stuff is pretty cool, but nothing compares with the emotional impact of seeing the kids or other great friends and family every morning. Ceiva has done a really amazing job in allowing people to stay connected like never before in this tech world we live in, yet you don't have to be a tech head to use it. Very cool!
Rating:
Summary: What a great invention!
Review: Our family shops regularly at Amazon, but this is the first time we are taking the time to submit a product review. That's because no product has ever made such a profound impact in our lives as the Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver. We have had our Ceiva Receiver for over a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed receiving pictures from our distant family, and friends that have moved away over the years. It may sound silly to write about the emotional impact an electronic item has had in our lives, but it's true. This year we gave two new Ceiva 2 Receivers as gifts, and they have been a huge hit again! Ceiva has really given us the ability to stay close and involved in the lives of people that really matter to us. I've read other reviews here about difficulty with set up and connection costs, but to be honest, it has been pretty easy to get a handle on using the product and website, and the costs are very minimal, especially given the emotional value to our family. Our cell phone costs 5X that of our Ceiva and is nowhere the value to us. We're looking forward to seeing what's next from Ceiva......and seeing pictures from our family and friends for a long time. Thanks for making such a wonderful product!
Rating:
Summary: Makes the world a small place
Review: Our family puchased two Ceiva Receivers this Christmas holiday. One was for grandparents who rarely see our family here in the States, not to mention distant family in Europe. Setting up the ceiva product was easy, as was sending pictures to both Receivers. The real joy of this amazing product is when we began receiving pictures from our family overseas. Even our younger family members are fortunate if they can make it to Europe once a year, but now we are all able to receive pictures everyday! Not only has Ceiva brought family closer together here in the U.S. but overseas as well. Thank you for a wonderful product!
Rating: 
Summary: STRUGGLING COMPANY - POOR EXECUTION
Review: If you are overseas or in Canada, forget it. There is NO way to make the Cieva frame call from anywhere other than the US. In fact Cieva has purposely re-designed their web site to make it impossible to call from overseas; despite thousands of requests from people willing to pay the toll fee. If you are in the US the setup is not grandma friendly, complicated, and can only be done by a person with a computer and patience. It is not a product for most Grandma and Grandpa's. And that is the exact market they are catering to. The price is low, and that explains the abysmal image quality. But the yearly service fee not so cheap, and will run you close to $100. (If you plan to buy more than one frame, you better check to see if that fee is $100 per frame. Each frame has a serial number that you have to enter when you sign up with Cieva.) Support, I spent days calling a busy tone. Finally when they did pick up I had to wait over 20 minutes. Once I got them on the line they were fine, but all they had to do was tell me I couldn't dial in from overseas. It seems their support is in one location, and the executive offices in another, but I was told there was no way to call the executive offices because they did not have a phone (of course I don't believe that malarkey). Ceiva is obviously a small struggling company in a market that will soon offer a wide variety of superior offerings. I had a multiple negative Ceiva experience and will not be coming back to Ceiva.
Rating:
Summary: Ceiva is fine. Other new products look also cool
Review: Ceiva is a great concept, and I believe was the first one of that kind in the market. Quality is still poor, and price expensive though.
You can find some other products (some also sold on Amazon) dedicated to non-computer users or users experiencing troubles to download and display emails and/or pics, such as the MailStation (provided by Earthlink), the Pacific Digital Memory Frame (provided by Pacific Digital), the MailBug (provided from Lander) and FamilyMail (free beta version on their site).
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