Mobility Digest Review: Smartparts SPDPF104 10.4” Digital Photo Frame

Hello guys! I’m back with another review, I’m a bit behind after being sick with the flu or whatever it was, then it turned into a sinus infection, so I’ve been rather miserable for the last week or so. I’m still a bit stuffy, but I feel better and I’m almost back to my former self, whatever that may be…

Today for review our friends at Geeks have sent me over one of their cheap digital photo frames, and by cheap I mean inexpensive of course! The frame is from a company called Smartparts, and this particular frame retailed for over $200 when it first came out, but now Geeks is offering for only $35. You might wonder why the low price, well it’s a discontinued product, and that’s the only reason, there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s a great price really for such a large display photo frame, I doubt you’ll find a 10.4” digital photo frame out there for less than this one is. The build quality is very good, it has a thick plexiglass frame on it that should match any decor. So read on…

 

Author: Kristofer Brozio

Vendor: Geeks.com

Price: $34.99

Overall Rating: 4/5

10.4" Smartparts SPDPF104 640×480 Digital Photo Frame & MP3 Player w/3.5mm Headphone Jack (Black/White/Transparent)

Display your digital photos anywhere with this elegant 10.4-inch Smartparts digital photo frame!

The Smartparts SPDPF104 digital picture frame features a 10.4-inch screen size and a 640 x 480 resolution which is great for viewing JPEG digital photos. Built-in memory card readers let you access JPEG and MP3 files from some of the most popular memory cards including Secure Digital, CompactFlash, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, and xD-Picture Cards.

With the versatile SPDPF104 you can listen to music and view photos without a computer. Access files from a USB flash drive by utilizing the built-in USB port. There is also a mini-USB port for connecting this digital photo frame to a computer.

There is a 3.5 mm headphone out jack on the bottom of the frame for private listening! An included remote control makes operation a breeze. Display your photos in your home or office with this easy-to-use Smartparts SPDPF104 digital photo frame!

General Features:
– Black/White/Transparent Frame
– Screen Size: 10.4-inch
– Resolution: 640 x 480
– Picture Format: JPEG
– Music Format: MP3
– Can access files from USB flash drives
– Create slideshows
– Built-in speakers
– 3.5 mm Audio Out
– Built-in Card Readers
– 3.5 mm Headphone out jack

Supported Memory Cards:
– Secure Digital (SD)
– CompactFlash (CF)
– MultiMediaCard (MMC)
– Memory Stick (MS)
– xD-Picture Card (xD)

Connectors:
– One (1) Mini-USB
– One (1) USB Type A

Controls (on side):
– Up
– Down
– Left
– Right
– Enter
– Exit

Unit Dimensions:
– 9.3 x 11.8 x 2.2-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

You can find all kinds of Computer Parts are Geeks!

What’s in the Box?

The SmartParts frame comes in a plain white box, nothing special.

Inside you’ll find the frame packaged well, user manual and a small box with the power supply, remote control and USB cable.

 

The remote is small but it has basic functions on it.

When I first open the box I was really surprised by the thickness of the plexiglass that surrounds the frame, it’s a good 1 1/2” thick,and yes it’s heavy.

On the back you’ll find the stand, speakers and even holes for wall mounting.

On the left side you’ll find USB ports and memory card slots:

Then on the left side you’ll find the power switch, controls and the power connection.

 

Impressions / Review:

So to test this I loaded up an SD card with music, videos and pictures. When you first turn it on you’re greeted with the source selection screen:

When you select your source you’re taken to the next menu where you can select what you want to view. You can press the Setup button here and another menu will appear where you can select system settings that only offers a couple choices for language or USB.

The first option is photos, and there is a menu that will appear when you press Setup with limited selections for options.

You can change the time between photos, the type of transition animation and you can even add background music if you want, along with setting it to show the photo names or not.

When you press Photos they’ll appear in grid format for you to see what’s on the card or USB drive:

From here there’s another menu that will appear if you press Setup with options to Copy or Delete photos.

and here’s one of the photos:

Taking pictures of the screen doesn’t really do it justice, the quality it very good actually. The pictures are bright and colorful with very good color reproduction.

The next option would be Music so you can use the photo frame as an MP3 player:

The names are cut off as you can see above, and it shows you track number along with the time. The speakers aren’t the greatest, but they aren’t bad. There is a headphones jack so you could use your own headphones to listen to music, but why you would want to I’m not sure..

The choice is videos:

I put different file formats on the card and it wouldn’t play any of them. Playing videos though is not listed as something this product can do in the specs, but I figured I’d give it a try anyway.

The last option is Files where you can see everything on the card or USB drive listed with preview if available.

Overall though for a picture frame it’s not bad, the colors are very good and the pictures look nice really.

You can use the remote or the controls on the side for navigation, but I found the controls on the side to be note exactly responsive. I would press the button and nothing would happen, it seemed you have to press them just right to get it to do anything. I found It’s just easier to use the remote.

I have to mention that when this originally came out it sold for $249.99, but that version did video playback, that’s the only difference though. Now you can get this for $35, which is a pretty big discount.

Conclusion:

The Smartparts digital photo frame is very well made, it looks very nice, but it’s fairly basic really. That’s not a bad thing though, personally I would buy a digital photo frame for pictures, I don’t need it to have internet connectivity or the ability to play music or videos or any other extra features.

The frame itself is large and the thick border makes it a bit heavy, but the 10.4” screen is nice and big for viewing pictures. The color reproduction is very good, and the resolution is fairly high for a picture frame. I think most people out there would be very happy with the picture quality.

I looked around and it’s hard to find a digital photo frame this size for such a low price, I think it’s good deal myself and as a digital photo frame I like it. The other stuff I don’t need, so if you’re looking for a decent large sized digital photo frame at a low price then you might want to check this one out.

Pros:
+Very well made
+Decent resolution
+Good color reproduction  
+Very easy to use

Cons:
-Controls don’t always work, not exactly responsive
-Video option but doesn’t play video
-Titles and most of text gets cut off