 |  |  | Looking to Buy a Digital Photo frame - A Few Points to Consider
In todays ever increasing and sophisticated Digital World, the standard printed photo in a frame is very old hat, these days people want and expect to be able to see a nice slideshow of their loved ones and holiday snaps without the need for an expensive projection system or even a PC.
In steps the Digital Picture Frame with the ability to play digital photographs, in most cases directly from your digital camera with no more intervention than you removing the media from the camera and plugging it into the frame. Then sit back and watch all your pictures come to life displayed on a bright, colour rich LCD Screen.
What to look for?
The size of the screen on which you will be displaying your digital photos is obviously important, digital photo frames come in a wide array of sizes ranging from the small and portable 1.5" keyring type frames up to the larger 32" frames such as the corporate frame sold here by Udiggit. They come in a wide range of styles as well from the very modern acrylic to the more traditional wooden varieties in a range of colours and hues to match almost any decor. As with TV's the frame size is based on the measurement of the actual lcd panel from corner to corner so take into consideration that the actual frame itself can be considerably more than 7" for example.
Equally as important, if not more so is the "resolution of the frame", this is the total number of picture elements, or "pixels" of which the displayed image is composed (often quoted in the form of rows x columns). So for example most 7" frames have a display of 480x234 which is good for general display of your holiday snaps. For the more discerning among you start your search at frames such as the 8" Pictorea models with a resolution of 640x480 for sharper, clearer pictures. As a rule of thumb the better the resolution the better your pictures will be displayed.
Some Digital Picture frames are now beginning to come onto the market with a small amount of internal storage memory freeing the user from any types of media cards but for those that don't make sure that the digital frame you are looking at utilises the more common types of media, for example SD (Secure Digital), CF (Compact Flash), Memory Stick and MMC types of memory card. Or at the least supports the card utilised by your camera. All frames at Udiggit from 7" upwards are of course supplied with a free 2Gb SD Card so this being one of the popular mediums make them a good choice.
Another pointer to take under consideration is aspect ratio, Photo frames typically come in one of two aspect ratios, 4:3 or 15:9. By default, most point-and-shoot digital cameras take photos in 4:3. So a frame with an aspect ratio of 4:3 will be the best fit for your photos, as 15:9 frames will have to crop a piece of the top and bottom of your photos in order to fill the image on the LCD screen. On the other hand, a 15:9 aspect ratio gives your images a pleasing "widescreen" feel, which might be a better bet for some.
Finally don't forget the functionality of the frame, think about what you are wanting to do, more and more frames are now offering such extras as the estarling frame with its wi-fi connectivity and online email system allowing you to send gran your latest pictures without her even knowing how it all works. Bluetooth connectivity is another new feature, battery operation as well as mains there are a whole host of new innovations bringing that boring old task of browsing through the family album into the 21st century. (12/12/2008) |
| Brilliant New Gift Idea
The Guitar Boy 2.4" frame is a brilliant gift idea exclusively available in the UK and although at first glance it appears small and quite quirky with its stand, it is actually packed full of functionality.
From taking out of the box the frame literally takes a few minutes to set up and be displaying pictures straight from a Flickr account or from a local directory on the PC via its USB Connectivity. But its not limited by having to remain connected to the PC, its built in Li-Ion rechargeable battery means that it can be loaded up with your favourite pictures (upto 28 on its internal 128mb memory) and taken out and about with you on your travels and with a 4 hour battery life you'll be showing everyone your latest pictures.
The 2.4" screen displays pictures in 320x240 pixel resolution with 64K colours and the images are clear, bright and sharp with no discernable pixellation or loss of quality, very impressive for a screen of this size.
Connect the screen back to the PC though and its really at home, aside from the ability to display every photo held in your Flickr account, the frame can synchronise with your Google Calendar displaying event reminders as and when they occur with both a message and audible alarm. Want to know what the weather is doing in your area, a quick click through from the frames menu button on the pc taskbar and it will even tell you that with a graphical display, switching back to your photo's just as easily.
All in all this is an impressive little piece of kit and at its £29.99 price tag makes it a really useful gadget to adorn any desk. To learn more click here (16/12/2008) |
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