Photo printers with digital frames are less than the sum of their parts
If you're looking to display and print your digital photos -- and who isn't, really -- there are a few products that attempt to do both. The Epson PictureMate Show (*Est. $230) and the Sony DPP-F700 Digital Photo Frame/Printer (*Est. $200) both combine a compact photo printer, which can print out snapshots directly from your camera, with a digital photo frame for showing off your photos in slideshow format. But can either one really handle both jobs?
The PictureMate Show is essentially Epson's well-reviewed PictureMate Charm (*Est. $150), a pick in our latest report on photo printers , with the addition of a high-resolution 7-inch screen. In theory, this screen can double as a digital picture frame; it displays images at 800 by 480 dots per inch (dpi), and it offers an array of slideshow options, plus a clock and calendar for desktop use. However, despite these features, reviewers generally consider the Show impractical for use as a photo frame. Lynn La of MacWorld says the screen is "too big to serve as the printer's photo control panel screen, but it's also too small if it wants to compete with other photo display models on the market." M. David Stone of PCMag.com agrees, saying, "no one I asked would even consider using it as a digital picture frame" because the printer hanging off the back makes it too bulky.
