May 2, 2007 | Everyday Wisdom, Product Talk

Sometimes expensive things can be gotten cheaply, much to the bargain-hunter’s delight. And sometimes expensive things come in cheaper versions; also (usually) to the delight of those seeking a deal. The question with things like electronic becomes: What price deal?

I’ve gotten multiple emails lately asking me to steer the inquisitor towards an awesome deal on a digital photo frame. Mother’s Day is coming up, and I can’t think of many moms who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive such a gadget. But—of course—these are expensive items, in general. Sure, you can get less expensive ones, but in general you’ll be sacrificing quality in doing so. Then you run the risk of becoming stuck in the potentially endless loop of “how much do I need” vs. “how much am I willing to pay.”

I’ve linked two frames at Amazon in this post. To the left, there, is the highly-rated 9″ Philips digital picture frame. It garners a review of “excellent” over on cnet and is my top choice if money is no object. But money usually is an object, and even at 20% off, you’re looking at dropping a couple hundred dollars on it.

To the right is an off-brand, lesser-quality 7″ digital picture frame by Ziga. The good news is that it’s only $60, and for a relatively small amount of money, it’s a pretty nice item with good reviews. The display won’t be stunning and it’s not as diverse or user-friendly as the Philips frame, but if saving money is paramount, it’s not a bad choice.

(Disclaimers: These are not the only two digital photo frames in the world. I am not a professional electronics reviewer. Results may vary. I’m still wearing my pajamas. If you take lousy pictures, the frame really doesn’t matter.)

6 Responses to “The electronics dilemma”

1. 1 Rachel May Says:
   May 2nd, 2007 at 12:26 pm

   This makes me laugh: “If you take lousy pictures, the frame really doesn’t matter”.

2. 2 rachel Says:
   May 2nd, 2007 at 1:07 pm

   Mir, please don’t overlook the system by CEIVA (www.ceiva.com) which is an awesome system by which you can remotely upload photos to your family. We got one for my parents (between my siblings and I) and now my parents never want for new pictures of their grandkids. It’s a awesome system.

3. 3 Stephanie Clarkson Says:
   May 2nd, 2007 at 3:10 pm

   Oh, wow. and the CEIVA is usable in Canada, where my parents are. I’m so bookmarking that; their 30th anniversary is this October, and that’ll be a fabulous present for them.

4. 4 Mir Says:
   May 2nd, 2007 at 3:19 pm

   Your points about the CEIVA are well taken, Rachel, although I dislike the added cost of their service (obviously). If you have no other way to get pictures to your tech-unsavvy loved ones, the CEIVA may be a good option, yes.

5. 5 janet Says:
   May 2nd, 2007 at 3:49 pm

   thanks, mir. i didnt know i wanted one of these until i saw this!!! sheesh!

6. 6 bec 37 Says:
   May 3rd, 2007 at 2:20 pm

   There’s another less complicated option if you want something more interesting than a standard frame, but not expensive. Brookstone has “talking” frames that you can record messages on. I’m thinking grandparents will get a kick out of this one; you just put pictures of the grandkids in the frame and have them record a message.