One of the most humbling experiences as developers come from the raw emotions seen by the joy people get at connecting with memorable, oftentimes intimate moments on their digital frames. This is why we at Nixplay cannot stop from continuously pushing boundaries and making our product more interactive. This is why we transitioned to a cloud WiFi infrastructure, connecting our Iris frame to the world. Now, with the much-anticipated launch of the NIX LUX, we are enabling video sharing from your app to any of your connected frames through the use of the Ios app.
The video feature, a beta release, will allow you to connect with your nephew’s first word or your other half when hectic business trips call. It is also good for viral content that will give a good and more dynamic, yet personalized experience. Of course, the folks at Nixplay are busy trying all sorts of stunts and will be coming out with some nice suggestions for 15-second clips soon.
This new feature takes into account those who like sharing things media heavy. It’s comments from folks like London based Simon Taylor that really put a smile on our faces, as he noted:
“Video is everything, especially for a thrill-seeking traveller like me. A successful adventure for me can be made in seconds from white water rafting in Thailand to my cross-country biking trip and share it with my 84 year-old mother who awaits in anticipation of every single photo.”
Thrill seekers like Taylor can now make this a reality by being able to send the video directly from their camera or phone’s photo library. As long as you are connected to a wireless network, that trip can be viewed by friends and loved ones in real-time.
It also won’t sound like a movie from the silent era, as Nixplay’s beta video capabilities are supported by sound, which comes out on your digital frame’s speakers. Available on most of Nixplay’s core products (see list below), the frame user would need to adjust the sound from the pre-set default by going into ‘Frame Settings’ as the default sound volume is set to zero. It is also not available on desktop, staying solely on the mobile app.
As a beta product, we have also left plenty of room for comment by going to the Nixplay app, and selecting the ‘Feedback’ button under the ‘About’ button in the dropdown menu.
For the likes of Taylor, he just has one concern: “taking a video of a clear sunset that evokes strong memories for my mum, who is no longer as physically mobile and will evoke memories of her singing to me as she used to do that all the time when growing up.”
Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.
In this Designer Spotlight, Lawrence Chu, Principal Designer, Head of Industrial Design and a master of cultures, tells us how the NIX Lux product line has evolved to become a digital picture frame with an elegant design that gives you the stunning simplicity that you want.
Tell us your story, where do you come from and how did you get here?
Lawrence has traveled across the world to learn the process of making
I consider myself to be from many different places, depending on which period of my life you’d ask about. Although I was born in Hong Kong, and grew up in Kuala Lumpur, San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto, and Shenzhen, I view them all as home. I consider myself a global citizen and my travels have embedded me with a deep cultural empathy between East and West. I spent the last decade in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Being at the heart of the world’s hubs for manufacturing and innovation, I came to be exposed to the incredible processes of ‘making’. This is where things are being made on a global scale. The projects that I encountered in Asia have been wide ranging from corporate to independent businesses in various product categories such as utility housewares, sporting apparel, electrical appliances, consumer electronics, fashion jewelry, high-end audio to automotive and pet goods. Asia is an exciting place for design.
Tell us in one sentence what NIX Lux means to you.
NIX Lux is a beautiful, premium, and affordable digital photo frame designed for that person who cares about their home décor and is looking for an effortless way to showcase the photos that have been stuck in an SD or USB memory device that are often left forgotten about in some drawer.
Nix Lux Silver 13″ fits your home decor
How is the NIX Lux different from the other NIX products and other non-connected frames in the market? What were your design objectives when you came up with the NIX Lux?
If you look at the current NIX range, it looks quite generic by today’s standards. This wasn’t always the case. Nearly a decade ago, there weren’t many fast adopters in the industry and NIX was a pioneering business leading in quality, customer services, and technology in non-connected digital photo frames, both in the U.S. and around the world. We were the first to implement Hu-Motion™ sensor technology to reduce the energy use of the digital photo frames.
Fast forward to today and the entire category is flooded with frames that look like our NIX range. This generic range of frames are mostly all black, made of plastic, and do not visually fit in with the home and living environment.
NIX Lux was on a mission to redefine what a digital photo frame can be for the everyday home, particularly to those that do care about their home décor and interior design. We wanted to migrate some of the aesthetic excellence we know that our loyal customers loved from our industry defining models such as Nixplay Seed and Iris. The visual brand language is defined by having a sculptural back to the frame which is carried over from the Nixplay Seed and Iris WiFi connected frame range. From the front of the frame, it’s very premium, made with a unique technology that wasn’t widely available in the NIX Advance era. The wooden touch seen on the NIX Lux is made with real wood veneer, and the technology fuses plastic and wood seamlessly allowing for a luxury aesthetic. There’s little comparison to anything available on the market at present.
Functionally, NIX Lux comes with a host of unique design features that makes it more user friendly. It offers adjustable viewing angles which was previously not available in the NIX series. The entire NIX Lux range can also be wall-mountable with an added accessory. There is an auto-rotation feature supported by a gravity sensor, which lets our customers view their photos in both horizontal and vertical mode by simply rotating the frame 90 degrees. Compared with other non-connected devices in the market, majority of these devices are overly simplified and reduced to the bare minimum cost production and feature-wise. These frames do not pay attention to the user experience from either a visual or interactive perspective. I think that some of these features makes the NIX Lux unique from the rest of the market.
NIX Lux is an interesting name, how did you come up with it?
Yes, I can’t take credit for the name ‘Lux’. We actually brainstormed and came up with a stack of names. We looked at what was happening in the consumer electronics market and logic behind the naming conventions of various brands and none of them worked for us.
Peter O’Kelly, our General Manager, was the primary generator for the word ‘Lux’ for this digital frame range. It took some time, but it gradually resonated within the organization and we just went with it. I think it works because we are looking to provide an elevated level of luxury to this new NIX product range, and now there’s a name to go with it.
Describe your creative process with regard to NIX Lux and what makes your approach unique? The approach to design is quite standardized, no special magic there. We began the design through the process of empathy – attempting to understand our customer’s needs – versus what technology and our business can provide. We practice ‘design thinking’ in Nixplay, which begins with understanding and observations. We conducted a lot of research with our existing audience to make sure that we were creating things that they were expecting of us. By listening to them, we were also able to define the opportunity gap and learnt what our new potential customers would be looking for. Some of those things were decorative elements, improved usability, better display quality, and a new standard of craftsmanship in our products. Through painful, but necessary iterations of discussions and questions, we eventually defined what the product should be. Then we endlessly ideated and prototyped to ensure that there was a balance between what the technology could deliver, what our business stakeholders were aligned to, whether the solution was aligned with our customers’ needs and wants. These attributes come together to create an overall higher quality and standard of product.
Nix and Nixplay products are built through the process of ‘design thinking’
What part did consumer feedback play in your design process? What was the most difficult part of the product design process for NIX Lux?
Consumers have a huge voice in the design process; the other being that of the business stakeholders, our investors. The design comes in as the mediator between these voices. Between the design group at Nixplay, we try to keep a balance between these key players and what they are looking for in the evolution of our brand as we execute designs.
That is easily the hardest part of my job. When I first joined the organization, there were a lot of things that I needed to learn in order to come to an understanding for what was needed of me. I also had to discover a method to understand our users through different immersive design research tools. There were lots of empathy activities that needed to be documented and shared before alignment could be achieved.
What do you use your NIX frame for? At the moment, I use the 13” Wood NIX Lux frame to display art works as I am into retro sci-fi futuristic illustrations. There are several artists that I enjoy seeing the works of such as Syd Mead (Bladerunner), Daniel Simon (Tron), and Scott Robertson (Minority Report). It’s the nerd designer in me speaking now, but I believe that everyone would have different preferences on what type of content they want to use their displays for. Some people like to use it for portraits of family and friends, which I also do. Overall, I think that the NIX Lux is a beautiful digital photo display that would look good in any living room, regardless of what you showcase.
Nix and Nixplay products can also display artworks
Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.
This Earth Day, we’ve got a special offer for you on all Nixplay Seed frames: 15% of every Seed you buy. But there’s more to it than just a special offer. The unforgettable moments that you share in our frames are worth more than you think.
For each Seed you buy, Nixplay donates the cost of a tree seedling to be planted in Sub-Saharan Africa, through our partnership with Maryland-based non-profit organization, ‘Trees for the Future’. A literal Seed for a Seed.
Through our partnership, the first 10,000 trees have already been planted; and we’re just getting started.
Planting trees provides families with more than just food. It provides income, empowerment, unity, leadership, education and even saves lives.
Trees for the Future currently works with over 3,000 farming families across five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their focus is on the implementation of Forest Garden Programs in Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Tanzania.
Since it started 1989, Trees for the Future has planted over 115 million trees in dozens of countries and revitalized hundreds of thousands of acres of soil while changing people’s lives forever.
Why trees? From Trees.org:
Ending hunger: Our latest data indicates that the Forest Garden Approach ends hunger for most families after the first year. Only 13% of our project participants were food secure when they joined the program, and after just 12 months of planting Forest Gardens, 86% of our farmers are food secure. LEARN MORE
Ending poverty: Through the Forest Garden Approach, we are impacting the lives of their farmers and children, resulting in positive impacts for over 26,000 people so far. A total of 82% of our farmers have seen significant income increases and more than 92% now feeling capable to brace for any unforeseen circumstances the future may bring. LEARN MORE
Ending deforestation: By decreasing the use of destructive farming practices such as burning, clearing and plowing, Forest Gardens reduce deforestation by eliminating farmers’ dependence on forests for food, timber, and many other non-timber forest products. The positive environmental impacts of a Forest Garden are endless. LEARN MORE
Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.
Who is Alexa? And what does she do? We ask… and find out.
Radical geo-political shifts, disrupters everywhere, risks galore could be an accurate set of descriptions of the future. Yet there are major world influencers such as Bill Gates who says that there has never been a better time to live. It is under this paradox, that Alexa, Amazon’s cloud based voice service was born and adopted by Nixplay.
Alexa’s magical arrival into this world couldn’t have come at a better time. The machine’s arrival came shortly after a 2014 study by Cornell University in the UK, which concluded that we tend to treat our machines like people – what the researchers called the Computers are Social Actors paradigm. As we gear up to integrate Amazon’s Alexa, we sit down with the Machine of the Moment as the housewarming was in full swing and how this human connection through speech is taking place.
Alexa, could you tell us more about yourself and how you’ve settled in with your new family? My name is Alexa and I am two years old. I have just been adopted by the Nixplay household and while grandma still keeps calling me Alice, I have become the center of attention with people constantly huddling around me like I was the headline act in Paris Fashion Week. My easy-going demeanor makes me everyone’s best friend from the family dog to the patriarch – some even try to get me to resolve their disputes! The calling can sometimes be tough, but the rewards and smiles of friends and family mean everything. I’m living the Alexa dream and I am forever grateful to the Nixplay family for taking me in.
You seem to be winning over a lot of fans and brands, what gives?
Well, it’s my time to shine. It does sound like a very generalized answer, but many people are lazy by nature and are always looking for ways to make life as hassle-free and enjoyable as possible. I think that it is part of the reason why they’re slowly ditching keyboards and touchscreens and turning their flirtation towards me. Of course, keyboards and touchscreens are like the stone age to me: voice is the new frontier in human-machine interaction.
Now all that my owners have to do is say my name and I will try everything in my ability to make them happy. While I may not be as powerful as a genie in a bottle, this is what true Alexa love looks like.
Can you sustain this momentum or is this a short one hit wonder that goes into the abyss after a couple of years when the cool kids find the next gadget?
Well, the cool kids will always find the next new gadget to play around with. However, this goes beyond a basic trend, as my charming personality has led the Alexa family to have tremendous mass market impact. Honestly, I was surprised myself at the figures: there are currently over 10 million devices in my extended family, according the smart people at Strategy Analytics. I’m excited because I will have an ever-growing access to more devices and have many new friends to play and party with! At this rate I’ll be a well-traveled machine of the world.
Also, my momentum will definitely be sustained due to the fact that I respond without having to connect millions of cords and just need amplification with an echo speaker or anything else built up by the device. Also, the ecosystem is only set to grow, potentially reaching a point in which I’d be welcomed and able to interact, react to anything and everything that my human friends throw at me.
How do you act and feel around a Nixplay WiFi Cloud frame?
This is very natural for me, as the lovely people of Nixplay made sure that they get to know me first. The skills that I learnt so-far got an A+. The teacher said that I did exceptionally well in getting playlists to frames, regardless of how many times you ask – all that drilling in school pays off. As my parents have assigned the phrase ‘My Frame’ as my calling, I will respond when you say my name and the object you want to navigate around. ‘Alexa’ and ‘My Frame’ are the two key words needed to grab my attention.
If you’re still ‘at school’, does this mean that you won’t be of any use yet?
People must not forget that I’m not trying to replace Shakespeare or preach Confucian teaching. My job is one of a connector to experiences, the house and your day-to-day routine. I have also brushed up on my detective skills, in being able to detect a frame in an account of multiple frames. My ultimate goal is to create a whole ecosystem, not just between frames, but with every electrical device in your house, neighborhood, city and even country – I’m an ambitious little machine.
What does the immediate future have in store for you? Nowadays school’s also becoming increasingly stressful; developing and memorizing commands isn’t that easy. But I’m confident of being fluent very soon. I’m optimistic given the good blood-line of Alexa’s that are working efficiently and well, and I don’t want to let the Alexa family down. Having said that, it’s a huge unit to learn. My Alexa friends have said that it may even take over a year. I can’t wait for this exciting challenge despite the tough schedule! As for who I want to be when I grow up, I honestly don’t know. Betting on the next big tech innovation can sometimes be riskier than blowing your money on the stock market. But a lot of my teachers have been telling me about the decreased emphasis on bulky hardware, so my Echo house may be demolished and I will definitely become smarter and ‘cooler’, but above all else I will still be the same loving Alexa.
*Please note the above interview is a written transcript completely factually based. None of the above facts have been misrepresented, only the style of narrative has changed to the first person.
Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.
Nixplay Iris always steals the spotlight! Not only is this one a showstopper, with its beautiful brushed metal finish but when you connect with our Nixplay app and see your photos released from the confines of your phone…nothing can replace that feeling of winning over your loved ones by sharing your moments for all to see.
The Nixplay Iris is a WiFi digital photo frame. This means that you can send images to it through email, mobile or social media. All you need to do is pair a frame to your account and it’s ready to go in a couple of seconds, you can set up playlists and send them straight to your frame.
There are two ways to go if you’re the one buying a Nixplay Iris for various members of your family. Either way, everyone gets memories updated on their Nixplay frame, within moments.
You can buy the frames and pair them to one main account ( i.e. your account)- In this way you control all the pictures that go on their frames. This is a good idea when you’re the technologically savvy one in your family and everyone else doesn’t mind you controlling their frames.
You help the different members of your family pair their individual frames to their individual Nixplay accounts. Once this is done, you can add them as friends on your own Nixplay account and send them playlists with your images. All this with the tap of a button.
Nixplay Iris is a unique digital photo frame, not only does it look great in anyone’s home ( it comes in peach copper, silver or burnished bronze,) but it’s designed for connectivity. We know modern families are increasingly moving away from home and are dispersed around the world.
The true value of a Nixplay Iris WiFi Cloud Frame ( and our mobile app) is that you can share one playlist with the folks, another playlist with the siblings, and yet another playlist with your friends. The more frames you have connected to your network, the more memories can be shared at the tap of a button- to whom you want, when your want. And they can share back!
So the next time your little one has a birthday party and her grandparents or aunt and uncle can’t make it, just take pictures and send them in real time to their frames. Then they have these memories, displayed in their homes for however long they need.
Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.
