Earlier this year at CES we had reported on the Audiovox homebase Message Center and Digital Frame. At the time we where told it would be released in time for Mother’s Day and alas it was. So would this be a new spin on the average Joe digital frame? I guess we shall see.

Design:
Before you add a gadget to your kitchen area it is very important to many that it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb and that it should be aesthetically pleasing. The homebase blends in by having an all white design except for the control keys to the left of the unit which are green. The front is made of a high gloss acrylic that allows for the unit to easily be cleaned that surrounds a 7 inch LCD color display. To the left of the unit is also the power switch, USB port, SD/MMC/MS/xD, and CF slots for pulling off media. The unit comes with 512MB of built-in memory but for some that may not be enough. So the ability to expand the memory is excellent. On the right hand side of the unit is slots for a marker and post-it pads. Overall the homebase Message Center has a neutral color tone and not an ambitious design that would fit into any type of designer or non-designer kitchen quite nicely.

 

Setup/Installation:
The homebase doesn’t require any software setup to get started but it does require that you think of where to put it. Included with the homebase Message Center are several choices for mounting it. The most obvious would be the refrigerator. So Audiovox thought outside of the box and included a wire management system that contains the colors White, Black, and Clear all in an effort to make the wires blend in with your fridge and kitchen as the electrical plug finds it way to the outlet around your kitchen. There is also the option to mount it on the wall with an included wall mount bracket with anchors and flat head screws included in the box. Finally if you don’t want to damage your walls or attach this to your fridge there is the angle mount bracket which will easily slip onto the backside of the homebase which will allow it to stand freely on a counter top or table like a picture frame on a pedestal. For review purposes we chose the pedestal option which worked out just fine because honestly I like to have lots of room for magnets on my fridge. I also tend to slam the door on the fridge when I run out of coffee ice cream. The angle mount bracket snapped right into place and we were ready to move on to the next step.

Interface:
So I plugged in the unit and we were off. In a few seconds of turning it on the homebase logo popped on the LCD screen and then a slideshow presentation took place introducing the homebase and some of the things it does. It could easily be a tutorial. The homebase Message Center was definitely made for those who may not be technically savvy. It has a very simple interface that I’m sure your 5 year old would scoff at. To get stared you will press the “Menu/OK” button. There is a Menu button key, Memo, Up and Down key to operate the unit. After you press the Menu button a list of options comes up: Memo, Calendar, Timer, Photo, Settings, and Exit. One major difference between this device and any other run of the mill Digital Frame is the ability to record messages for them to be played back later. When you select Memo you are given the choice to record, play/erase, exit and erase all. So we went ahead and recorded a message by selecting record and it will automatically record your message and then another set of options pops up for you to review your message, record again, keep/exit, and then cancel. You use the up/down keys as directionals for what option you want to choose. We decided to keep the message. When you do, a green light suddenly appears on the front of the unit to show that you have a message. So you can go ahead and leave a message of any type on the machine. What an interesting way of leaving a message I can hear them already; ” Hi Mom we need milk and I failed math – love you” or ” Stay away from the cake, it’s mine!” After you play back the message you can erase it and the green light will disappear. With the calendar option you can record memos for important dates and also add icons so there would be no excuse for your beloved to forget your anniversary ever again or Mary’s recital. You can also set a timer which could be a helpful cooking tool but otherwise I don’t see what else it could be used for honestly.

Then there is the photos option, where of course all the fun lies. When you click on photos you get another menu screen which gives you options to pull media from an External Device, the Internal Photo Library or edit slideshow options for images already on the unit. When selecting images from the external device you have the option to pull images from the slots and ports we mentioned earlier and then you can copy those images you want to the memory on the unit or you can run slideshows just from the external media. We decided to use a USB key to import images. We copied one image over, played it first as a slideshow and then a static image. We also ran a slideshow with the images still on the USB key. It worked flawlessly without fail. You can also choose in what order pictures play in a slideshow or how long the slideshow should last. Lastly is the setting options which you can go to to customize if you want images played in normal mode or widescreen mode, as well as a format the memory to make room for more images and set the time and date of the unit.

There maybe a lot of options to choose from if you access the main menu and all its features but the actual unit has some nice aspects that make it a functional piece of equipment in your kitchen. You can write on it with a dry erase marker, which easily wipes away just in case you don’t want to fumble through the menu to leave a digital message- write it on the front of the unit loud and proud. A marker is included and so are post-its and magnets. As I mentioned earlier the marker and post-it pads have its own designated slots on the homebase. Unlike a typical fridge were you can throw a magnet on to it anywhere and it will stick, on the homebase you can only stick them around the edges of the unit, other wise it doesn’t stick which is kind of a bummer. The trim of the homebase is kind of thin which means using magnets any bigger than a top of a bottle cap is out the question, which means BORING magnets!

Sound Quality:
The sound is typical of any voice recorder device. The closer you are to the unit the better the play back will be. Stand a little further away or whisper and it won’t play to clearly. I stood about a foot away and a had a TV playing in the background and it recorded my message along with the TV sound. So I was pretty impressed.

Conclusion:
When Audiovox created homebase they definitely had the busy mom in mind. It is creative, thoughtful, and really understands the importance of communication on refrigerators in any family’s kitchen, while making it fun and innovative. The design is simple yet pleasing to the eye and easy to use and won’t frustrate Moms or kids in a hurry to get the point across. Currently available in stores for $149.99, and in June Audiovox will be releasing the Video/Audio version of the same model for $199.99. I can only imagine what those messages will look like….

The Good: Great for busy moms and familys. Easy to use and well thought out design and functionality.

The Bad: Would have liked a wireless option with batteries to eliminate wires altogether, wire maintenance in some homes can only go so far, and would have liked a bigger magnetic area for magnets that are larger than the size of bottle caps.