Bottom Line: Philips’ high quality digital picture frame is a surprisingly effective way to appreciate your digital photo library.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Most people have made the switch from traditional film cameras to digital photography. There are simply too many advantages to digital cameras. The images can be instantly appreciated, they can be shared rapidly and inexensively, and there is no cost of film, making mistakes affordable. Digital photography has also brought with it new challenges. While email and photo websites such as Flickr have offered new ways to share your photos, sometimes the computer screen is not the most practical place to appreciate photos. The Philips 7FF1M4 is an attempt to bring back casual enjoyment of photos without requiring printing. In fact, the 7FF1M4 goes one step further – it adds a new dimension made possible by its electronic nature: it can switch between multiple different photos on demand.

The 7FF1M4 is basically just a high quality backlit LCD screen; essentially it is a small computer monitor. It requires power so is plugged into an electrical outlet. To get photos from your computer into the 7FF1M4, you have two options. You can connect the device to your computer via the included USB cable, which is certainly a reasonable option. Philips claims you can store up to 60 photos using the frame’s built-in memory.

I have found that a more effective solution is the take advantage of the SD card reader in the frame. SD cards are quite cheap now, so it’s easy to get one that can store a large number of photos. SD card readers are cheap, so you can connect one to your computer and plug in a card. Copy over the photos you want, pop the card into your 7FF1M4, and you are good to go. It’s surprisingly convenient. Once the card is loaded into the frame, you can either choose to manually select the active photo, or have it rotate between them automatically using whatever schedule you like. The frame even can be set to turn itself on and off and prespecified times, so you don’t waste electricity while everyone is asleep.

The frame is simple and attractive, and should fit in with most decors. A clear plastic border surrounds a white frame, and the screen sits within this. A stand in the back props up the 7FF1M4, much like a traditional picture frame. If white doesn’t match the setting, the 7FF1M4 comes with grey, black, and red frames that can be used in its place.

The screen has a resolution of 720×480, which is impressively high for a screen of this size, and it shows. Pictures are crisk and have just the right amount of backlight to look natural in indoor lighting. Many people don’t even notice its digital until the picture changes. The inability to obtain a rich, deep black hampers contrast on many LCD screens, but the 7FF1M4 doesn’t seem to suffer from this problem.

The 7FF1M4 is not cheap: at $199 it’s a more serious purchase than most picture frames. However given the versatility and its ability to help you appreciate that digital photo collection that is accumulating on your computer, I think its worth it for many people. Though 6.5 inches is a good size, a larger 8 inch version is available for $50 more.