ViewSonic 8" 512 MB SwifTouch Multimedia Digital Photo Frame

Viewsonic is known for making LCD computer monitors, so it's no surprise that the company should offer LCD photo frames as well. The model reviewed here, the DPG807, is attractively priced at less than $80 given its 8-inch 4:3 (read: non-wide-screen) display with 256MB internal memory.

Overall, the DPG807 is an attractive, high-tech-looking frame with a sleek piano-black finish. It's all plastic, as opposed to having a wood or metal border, but it doesn't look cheap as do some plastic frames. The kickstand on the back swivels, giving you the option of locking the frame into landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) orientation. On the back of the frame are keyhole slots for mounting the frame to a wall with screws, but there's no threaded tripod mount.

The one issue with the shiny black finish is that it's a fingerprint magnet. This is a bit of a problem because the touch-sensitive controls for the frame--Viewsonic calls them SwifTouch buttons--are located on the bottom bezel so you're likely to leave fingerprints there. That said, the buttons illuminate blue when you touch the frame but turn off and disappear after a few moments. It's a nice touch. (Pardon the pun.)

A couple of other gripes: We didn't find the buttons as responsive as necessary and while the user interface isn't intimidating or complex, it can get confusing. Of course, after some tinkering around and a glance or two at the user manual, you can figure things out just fine. But it never inspired a "Wow, that's an elegant user interface."

Except for Olympus/Fujifilm xD-Picture cards, the frame accepts most types of memory card (SD, MMC, and Memory Stick), as well as USB thumbdrives and other mass storage devices, including a direct connection with your camera via USB.