Kaiser Baas Digital Photo Frame

The advent of digital photography has turned family outings into a snap happy, free-for-all. As a result, the mantelpiece has become crowded, pitting siblings against one another vying for their place at the family alter. The Kaiserbaas Digital Photo Frame will ease these tensions by replacing the many classical photo frames with just one photo frame to display an entire digital collection. However, with a low resolution and an uncouth exterior, most will find the Kaiserbass Digital Photo Frame wanting.

The Digital Photo Frame houses a 5.6in LCD display which has a resolution of 320x215. The resulting images resemble the works of Claude Monet, beautiful from afar (greater than about a metre), but grainy and lacking detail up close. Furthermore, the image colours appeared over saturated when viewed from above, although the viewing angle is always going to be a limiting factor with most LCD displays.

The Digital Photo Frame connects to a PC using the supplied mini-USB cable. Images are stored on the internal 32MB flash memory, or on an external memory card. This means the Digital Photo Frame acts as a card reader too, supporting Compact Flash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia Card (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick Pro (MS Pro) and XD card. Once uploaded, supported JPEG images may be zoomed and rotated, but this is only possible when viewing each image alone. Images presented in slideshow mode remain un-rotated and can't be rotated within the slideshow, making this feature somewhat moot.

In slideshow mode, the Kaiserbass Digital Photo Frame can play MP3s through its inbuilt speakers but don't expect this to replace an existing stereo - the sound quality is poor and volume is quiet. Users may also use the Digital Photo Frame to watch AVI (motion JPEG) videos, but the internal 32MB flash memory wont accommodate more than a video, a few MP3s and only a small photo collection. More extensive collections will require use of the memory card slots. All of the Digital Photo Frame's features may be operated using the supplied remote control and the buttons atop the frame.

The clunky LCD unit is encased in an outer perspex frame which encapsulates an interchangeable black or white inner frame. Its shiny plastic finish isn't likely to suit the decor many homes though. The frame may be mounted by three means; an adjustable leg, a wall-mount hole or via a tripod mount. Use of the wall mounting option will reveal the conspicuous power cord dangling from its base, further detracting from the important aesthetic requirements of a photo frame.

Overall, most digital photo frames still belong in the gimmicks category and the 5.6in Kaiserbaas Digital Photo Frame is no exception. Its low-resolution output and garish exterior is likely to spur a case of the buyer's remorse for anyone who has forked over its hefty ticket price.