Review: Audiovox Homebase

In the couple of weeks that I’ve had Audiovox’s Homebase attached to the door of my refrigerator I’ve been asked several times what it is. I hadn’t realized initially what a complicated question that was. Simply said, it’s a digital picture frame and message center. That’s kind of a strange combination, but works for me.

Less simply said, the Homebase is a digital picture frame, with a built-in adjustable video camera, microphone and audio recorder, digital calendar, alarm clock and kitchen timer, embedded in a dry-erase whiteboard with a magnetic border and storage container for post-it notes. Now you understand my problem. Explaining it usually works better when I just show people what it does.

The Homebase, as it’s name implies, is meant to be used in the traffic center of the home, hence it comes with an easy mount system for hanging on your fridge, but it can also be placed upright on a table if you don’t like the fridge option or hung on a wall. The most noticeable feature of the Homebase is the 7-inch LCD screen. Most homes have a mosaic of pictures hanging on the fridge door. The Homebase takes over that role by letting you store up to 1 GB of digital pictures and sending them out on slideshow. There’s a camera card slot (SD, MMC, MS, xD, CF) and a USB port for adding images, or you can run a slide show right off the card or USB flash drive, saving the built-in memory for other things. The 480 x 234 screen is good enough for it’s size, and most pictures look fine; however, I’d prefer to see a 4:3 screen as the tops of your pictures can get lopped off on the widescreen display. You have the option of viewing pictures in 4:3 mode, but then you’re not taking advantage of the entire screen area.

A kitchen digital picture frame is innovative, but adding in the digital messaging options makes it even more interesting. First, when initially setting up the product, you input the names of all your family members (through a rather tedious process of scrolling through letters–pull up a chair if you have a big family). Using the video camera, you can record video memos (or audio if you don’t want to make a video) and assign them to specific family member or to ALL. When there are available messages a note is displayed across the bottom of the screen alerting the recipient that a memo is waiting. The user then presses the memo button to view the message with the option to then save or delete. Memos can also be assigned to specific days on the onscreen calendar. For example, you can record birthday greetings in advance for each member of your family, then where their day comes, an alert will tell them a memo is waiting. The HomeBase will hold about video 20 memos at a time, depending on length, with a maximum of 40.

Within the calendar you can also add icons to highlight key dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and special events.

The unit’s video camera accommodates all the various sizes of the people in your family by swiveling up and down. Picture quality isn’t great–it looks like an inexpensive Web cam–nor is the audio quality stellar, but it’s sufficient for simply family memos.

If you’re in a real hurry or don’t want anyone to see what your hair looks like that morning, then you can use either the whiteboard (a dry-erase marker–included–fits in a slot on the side) to scribble your notes, or the post-it notes pad (also included) to remind someone to pick up bread or feed the dog.

To ensure it’s not wasting valuable electricity while the family is in bed, HomeBase has a built-in light sensor that will shut the unit down when the room is dark. If you’re a vampire, you can program custom on/off times through the menu.

First, let me state flat out that I’m a big fan of this product. I like how it brings some pretty cool technology into the least tech part of a house and does so as a way to make family communication easier. That said, I’d like to see a few things done differently. First off, Audiovox should improve the video and audio recording quality. Second, this would be awesome with a built-in Wi-Fi connection that retrieves news, weather and Internet radio. Third, I’d work on the menu a bit. It’s can be slow to respond, and sometimes it’s not terribly intuitive. Finally, I’d get rid of the white board and post-it notes and make the product all-screen. With a digital memo taker why bother giving people the option of resorting to something so old-fashioned as writing. Bluetooh synchronization with cell phones for pictures and calendar events would also be nice. A HOME or ESC button that returns you to your slideshow would be a welcome addition. Of course, all that would cause the price to soar above the $199 MSRP (more like $180 in most stores).

Overall, Audiovox has created something completely original with the Homebase. I think their biggest problem is where to sell it, Kitchen and Bath or Best Buy.

Audiovox Homebase
$199
7-inch LCD screen
Video camera
1 GB memory
Camera card and USB ports
Digital Calendar
Timer and clock
White board
Post-it notes

www.audiovox.com