HP has announced the DreamScreen web device. What looks like an HP digital picture frame is actually a unit that is meant to complement the home pc rather then replace it.

The DreamScreen is available in two sizes (10.2-inch or 13.3-inch) and is small enough to sit on a nightstand, kitchen table or a coffee table. It supports both wired and wireless networks but what is unusual about the unit is that although it is supposed to be internet connected, it lacks a web browser.

Instead, HP has partnered with mainstream websites such as Snapfish, the photo sharing site, Facebook, the social networking site and Pandora, the internet radio station. Through these partnerships, special interfaces have been developed to allow the DreamScreen to interface with these popular websites.

The DreamScreen, which comes with a touchscreen display and a remote control also has the ability to stream video as well as other digital content through the home network and can load media files from a flash drive or a USB drive.

The small screen display will retail for $249 while the large display will retail for $299. The exact release date is not known, but they will be available this fall.

[Source]