If you want to give your desk that little bit of techno-wiz look without taking away the smart and polished look, this is a perfect combination of style and functionality. The Tao desktop pen holder and digital photo frame combination is low-key enough to not clash with your mahogany writing desk, yet will attract attention to the fact that you’re a member of the techno-literati.

This elegant piece features a 3.5 inch digital photo frame and 128Mb of internal memory, enough to store a hundred or more photos, depending on the file sizes. You hook it up to your computer to upload photos via the frame’s own software included in the package. Naturally there’s an elegant silver pen included, should you wish to computer-weary fingers a rest and write something by hand instead.

The only pity is that it’s not battery operated, but requires an external electrical source, which could mean an unsightly cable snaking underneath the desk.

The set comes in a choice of matt black or wooden finishes, with the latter’s metal parts and pen being gold instead of silver.

This is an ideal gift for a special occasion where a person is deserving of something quite sophisticated without being outrageously expensive. The price tag is quite reasonable and fall within the range one would expect to pay for an executive style gift.

Digital picture screens have been around for a few years now. And as the cycle of technogical advance dictates, they’re becoming bigger, faster, brighter, and packs more and more features.

The frames produced a few years ago started off as little more than a rather dull LCD screen with a white or black plastic frame around it, clumsy software and a slow interface.

These days you can order touch screens, wireless, and interchangeable fascias from the ever-expanding menu of digital photo screens on the market.

There are three key areas in which digital photo screens will be improving in the foreseeable future:

Better screens: Expect screens to be getting bigger and brighter. Frames aimed at consumer as now approaching 15 inch in size. As they increase in size and start approaching the size of computer and television screens, it’ll be interesting to see if the product differentiation disappears or whether ‘digital photo frames’ can keep its niche. Portability and special functionalities such as on-screen clocks, calendars and other desktop applications will probably make the difference.

Interactivity: More and more frames have built-in wi-fi, meaning that they can connect to other wireless network, and of course, the Internet. Already some wireless screens are allowing users to stream online photos from services such as Flickr. One can expect this social network interactivity to develop further… imagine being able to stream photos from your Facebook friends on your digital photo frame!

Functionality: Most digital picture frames on the cheap end of the market are basically simple slide show viewers. A few are now incorporating touch screens, meaning that menus can offer more selections and inter alia more functionality. Expect more bells and whistles in terms of transitions and other gimmicks. Next thing, as mentioned desktop applications will start appearing on the menu. While some frames offer multimedia facilities that including video and sound capabilities, I’m not sure why anyone would like to watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster or listen to Bach over the tinny speakers of a digital photo frame.

As with computers, televisions and other consumer electronics it’s impossible holding off for the ‘perfect’ digital photo frame. The best is to treat them as you do your laptop or cell phone that you’re upgrading every year or two budget for the next one that’s bigger, brighter and smarter!

Ten features to check before buying a digital photo frame

Digital picture photo frames is one of the best ways to show off your digital photographs that may otherwise just sit on your camera without your friends and family ever seeing them properly. Imagine a conventional photo frame showing not just one, but a slide show of many of your favourite photographs!

A digital photo frame is in effect a small, simplified computer. It has an electric LCD screen and some built-in electronics at the back that allows it to be connected to a desktop or laptop computer via USB or wireless connection. The digital photo frame comes with software that interfaces between the computer and the frame, and allows you to select photos, and upload them to the screen. It also sets parameters such as the change rate of the slide show, and so on.

Digital photo frames vary much in terms of their features. Here is a list of features to check for when deciding on what type of frame to buy. Obviously the more sophisticated the frame features, the more expensive it will be.

1. The type of frame. There are many types of frames, from smart wooden frames to hi-tech black and polished metal frames. Many digital photo frames are supplied with several coloured overlays to add to the variation.
2. Size of the picture area: The common sizes of a digital photo frame’s display area are five inch, seven inch (17.5cm), eight inch, ten inch and fifteen inches on the diagonal.
3. Display type and resolution: The higher the screen resolution, the better quality the photos on the screen will be. The newer screens have 800×600 resolution as of date, but it keeps getting better as new models are released. Also, some screens are not clearly visible from the side.
4. Memory: Frames have a limited amount of memory which ranges between 256Mb to 1Gb. However just about every frame has one or more expansion slots for SD, Compact Flash, and even USB memory sticks. Having an expansion slot is a great feature as it let’s you show photos straight from your camera and show more photos that what the internal memory can accommodate. Typically, an average digital photo frame can display more than a thousand photos.
5.Way of communicating with your computer: Some frames communicate via USB cables; while others have wireless built-in. Certain models have built-in modems. Those with wireless, can, in some instances, communicate with Internet-based services, see below.
6. Can it display video? Some screens can display video as well – this is becoming an increasingly common feature.
7. Can it play audio? While the sound in most cases is not exactly top notch, it is sometimes handy to have audio playing facilities on a frame.
8. Type of mounting – some frames is table top only, and cannot be hung from a wall. Check that the frame you intend buying has the necessary fittings and accessories
9. Extra features: Some screens like certain Kodak models, and Ceiva frames can communicate via the Internet with a server where you store your photos, and then download and display them as needed. Others have the facility to receive and send emails with photos. Others allow you to stream photos from services such as Flickr.
10. Lastly, make sure the frame is not too complicated for the user. If you’re buying a frame for persons not too technically minded, select a simpler frame without fancy functions that my confuse them. On the other hand, if you’re a gadgeteer and are comfortable in configuring a frame for web use, then settle for a top-notch frame.

The box the digital photo frame comes in will normally contain a power supply (all frames run off AC power) ; a CD with the frame software; extra frame templates if supplied; and a manual.

Cheap digital photo frames start at less than $80 to well over a thousand dollars for the latest models that feature special high definition screens.

Check out our comparisons on screens from manufacturers such as Kodak, Ceiva, Agfa, Sony, and Pandigital.

One of the drawbacks of a digital photo screen is the aspect ratio. If, for instance, you place a frame horizontally, photos in portrait orientation will be quite small on display. There’s not much you can do about that, except to get two frames!

The future for digital photo screens is very bright (pun!). As technology advances, you can look forward to bigger frame sizes and better display area resolutions. More frames will also be able to communicate with online social services – look out for the first frames to stream photos from Facebook and other social networks!