Reviewed
by: Jack
Reikel, December 2006
Manufactured
by: Philips
Requires: Digital
photos; Windows 2000, XP or Vista for USB file transfer
from a PC
MSRP: US$298.95
(est. street price)
Few
of us have ever worked in an office or other business
or lived in a house or apartment that didn't have
at least half a dozen event or family photos hung
on the walls. Too few of us also have ever taken
the time or made the effort to regularly update the
photos hung on walls, framed on mantles, or propped
up on tables and shelves. Too much like work. We
look at the stuff that's been hanging there for a
couple of years (the photo of your nephew at 13,
who is now 16, driving, and hanging out with girls)
and tell ourselves we really should exchange the
photo for something more recent. There's an answer
to the problem that's easier to use than anything
you've tried before: the Philips 9" Digital
Photo Frame. We reviewed a sales sample, but the
unit should be available in December 2006.
Using
the Philips Digital Photo Frame is a simple process.
The device has a built-in multimedia card reader
which is compatible with Compact Flash (CF) type
I, Sony Memory Stick (MS), MS Pro, Multimedia Card
(MMC), Secure Digital (SD), and xD cards. Insert
a card containing digital photos, copy them to
the photo frame's internal memory (it holds between
110-150 photos) and select from a variety of different
slideshow styles including Collage, Random, Sequential,
and Transition effect. Review photos in the photo
frame and rotate or crop individual images to improve
their appearance. That's all there is to it.
At
9" (diagonal), the Philips Digital Photo Frame
is capable of displaying the equivalent of 5" x
7" photos. The LCD is bright and sharp with
an excellent viewing angle of 110º, which
basically means that in most office and domestic
setups, your photos can be seen clearly across
most normal sized rooms.
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The
9" model differs (and improves upon) the 7" Philips
model is several ways. First and foremost, the on-screen
configuration is more detailed and easier to navigate.
It's much easier to find your way through the menus and
selections using the 2 control buttons and 5-way mini joystick.
The 9" model also offers a lot more display choices.
You can set the device to display B&W only, photo frame
effects and sepia toning—it all works quite well.
There are also more slideshow choices: random, looping,
sequential, collage (an amazing effect in this form factor),
and transition effects between slides. The Philips 9" Digital
Photo Frame also offers a satisfying range of timer settings—daily
weekday and weekend on/off timers, a clock display and
an event reminder function.
The
value proposition built into a digital photo frame is
really based on the degree to which you and your visitors,
family and business associates or customers actually
notice the device and its display. The fact is, acceptable
quality digital photo frames have been around for about
five years. The Philips models however are the best consumer
models you can buy as of this writing. Bright, sharp
images that are visible at severe viewing angles in a
variety of lighting conditions make the Philips Digital
Photo Frame a must-have device if you've got a lot of
digital photos. You don't even have to own a digital
camera. Any print photo or slide can be scanned and then
transferred to a digital photo frame. Vacations photos
left to languish on a hard drive or CD, pictures of family
and friends stored in a drawer or shoe box, and favorite
photos taken in a moment of inspiration deserve to be
displayed. The Philips Digital Photo Frame is a great
way to do it.
Cons: Battery
life was an abysmal 50 minutes—use the AC adapter.
There are four different bezels supplied with the display,
but they're all color variations on the same contemporary
style. We'd love to see some square cornered wood and
some black metal bezels, either of which would help fit
the device into older style or more traditional rooms
and offices. The Remaining Memory indicator and the Battery
Level indicator were not accurate. Will only display
JPEG files—we'd like to see support for other formats
including TIFF, PNG and BMP.
Pros: I'm
personally fed up with conventional framing, so the quality
of these Philips digital models is quite welcome. For
$100 more than the 7" model the Philips 9" Digital
Photo Frame offers a lot more features. Special effects,
image cropping, transitions between slides, built-in
clock display, different on/off timers for weekends,
an event reminder, three different slideshow styles and
the larger 9" LCD display makes this one a very
good buy. Bright display with excellent viewing angles
means it can be set up almost anywhere. Large recessed
outer bezel looks great and sets off displayed images
beautifully. The stand can be rotated for portrait or
landscape display. Excellent product. Highly recommended.
