Digital photo frames replace old paper photo frames displaying your photos on a desk, on a shelf or even on a wall. Digital photo frames are a good solution for viewing digital photos away from your computer screen and not on paper prints. Digital photo frames are simply LCD screens with a micro computer attached to it that allows loading photos and displaying them. Their industrial design mimics old paper prints photo frames. Digital photo frames are thin devices and can be placed on a desk, on a wall or put on a shelf.

Digital photo frames price varies and is driven by their LCD screen size and quality. The cheapest ones start at around $50 and the expensive ones run in the hundreds of dollars or more. There are other features that influence both price and performance. Philips makes popular digital frames. They are good in quality and usually priced right. Here are some you should look at when buying digital frames and an example of how they apply to one Philips 6.5-inch digital frame:

LCD size: The main and most important part of the digital frame to look at is the LCD. After all a digital frame sole goal is to display image and the quality of the LCD is crucial for that task. Decide what LCD size you should buy based on the distance from which photos are viewed and on where you would place the frame. The Philips 6.5-inch digital frame has a 6.5 inches LCD screen. It is mostly designed for desktop usage and is a great size if you want to put a digital frame on your desk at work or on a shelf at home. It has a 720X480 resolution which provides clear and sharp images.

Placement options: You might plan to place your digital photo frame at different places. Different designs are better for different placements. The Philips 6.5-inch digital frame is best when placed in a desk. Other digital frames are designed to be hung on the wall. Also make sure that when you buy a digital frame it includes all the necessary accessories needed for your planned usage. For example if you plan to hang it on the wall make sure the right wall mounts are included.

Memory: Digital photo frames usually do not have built-in memory. Instead they rely on external memory cards that are plugged into a special slot. This is done for flexibility and extensibility as well to keep the base product price low. The Philips 6.5-inch digital frame supports many memory cards types including SD, xD, MMC, Compact Flash and memory stick. Also remember that you will need to load the card with photos this is usually done by connecting the card to your computer. Make sure that your computer supports the card type or that you have the right adaptors.

PC connection: Digital photo frames can be connected directly to a computer. Why would you want to connect a digital frame to your computer? For two main reasons: either connect it temporarily in order to load its memory card or built-in memory with photos or connect it permanently to stream those photos to the digital frame (in such case a very small amount of memory is needed in the digital frame itself). The PC connection can vary from a USB connector to wireless LAN (also known as Wi-Fi or 802.11). The Philips 6.5-inch digital photo frame uses USB in order to connect to a computer.