Transferring images to the Philips digital photo frame is a lot easier than some of the cheaper models mainly due to the dual memory card slots and built in memory meaning your cameras image card needn't be left in the device. Simply slide in a memory card or connect the frame to a PC via the USB port and you can use the simple interface to select images you want transferred onto the photo frame. Once there you can display them in a thumbnail mode which makes it easy to see what you have loaded and make selections.

The frame measures 212 x 164 x 105mm with the stand and apart from looking quiet fetching it also has a choice of 4 interchangeable face plates making it that bit easier to blend into your home or office. We started by filling up the frame with a few choice shots taken from 2 different cameras at various resolutions in JPEG format. We loaded using 2 methods firstly a push over USB and then by trying a CF card in the first slot and a Sony memory stick in the second. All 3 methods worked fine and it is relatively easy to copy from the memory stick to the internal memory although this is limited at 12mb and would only hold around 5 images at the kinds of resolution created by a 6 megapixel camera, although the unit can handle images of up to 12 megapixels.

It is possible to do some basic editing of images mainly with rotation when building a slideshow, images can then be set to play in sequence for defined periods of time or for one image to remain static until you press a button to move the image on.

With the unit fully loaded and set with a slideshow we placed it in the office and set the brightness so that it was comfortable to look at without it looking horribly backlit. The brightness capability of 200 cd/m² is below an average TFT screen which is nearer 450 / 500 so in a fully lit office the digital photo frame looks clear but not like an electronic screen. The common feeling was that the photo frame looked quite natural and stylish and that the images were of a high quality although 7" inches does feel a bit small and the larger 9" model may be preferable were it not so expensive. All of our photos displayed well although some of the wider shots don't fair so well which is true of any image when printed at a relatively small size, so shot selection for your frame is very important.

The Philips digital photo frame does have a few features which justify the increased price, firstly you can vary the brightness based on the time of day (effectively by profile) this is ideal as you don't want the photo frame beaming out at its brightest in the early evening. The clock that enables this feature to work also makes it possible to switch the frame off automatically as there is no point in having it alive when everyone is in bed, plus it maximises its 20000 hour screen life before the brightness decreases below 50% of its initial capability. There is also a range of snazzy transitions to choose from, a random shuffle mode to ensure you don't get the images in the same line up and you can vary the change time from 5 seconds to 1 day!

Power is provided via the supplied ac adaptor or from the internal lithium ion battery which should see you good for a paltry 50 minutes before it runs out, so the main adaptor is essential! Our other main criticism is that for this kind of money we expected some form of network connection, either cabled RJ45 or perhaps WiFi or Bluetooth but you'll have to make do with the Compact Flash I (CF) card slot or the  Memory Stick (MS), SD Card and Multi-Media Cards (MMC) card slot to get images on.

Priced at around £130 the Philips 7FF1M4 is not a disposable purchase, luckily the style and build quality plus quality image display saves the Philips when pitched against the much better value ATMT model.

Published - 17/12/2006

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