The iPad as a digital-picture frame

The multifaceted iPad has been making its way into many of our labs, including our e-book reader and computer labs. Now, we've brought it into the digital picture-frame lab and compared it to several frames, including our top-rated model, the Digital Spectrum Memory Frame MF-801, $70.

I doubt anyone would spend $500 and up to use the iPad primarily as a picture frame. But if you've bought one for its many other uses, you'll be pleased to know it can also moonlight as a pretty darned good picture frame.

Here's what our preliminary tests found:

Pros

As we do with most digital frames, we tested the iPad for color, clarity and contrast. Although we haven't finished testing, our preliminary results show that overall it is very good to excellent—better than just about any picture frame we've tested. (Subscription required for access to our Ratings of Digital picture frames.)

Color was accurate and beautiful. And it displayed no jaggies along diagonal lines in images on the screen, as other frames did. In part, this is due to the fact that the iPad has a screen resolution of 1024 x 768, compared with 800 x 600 for most of the 7- to 8-inch, and even 10-inch frames we've tested in our lab. When we compared the iPad's contrast to the Digital Spectrum frame, though, it wasn't quite as good, tending to swallow up the details in shadow areas.

But the iPad stood out in other ways. It has a faster processor than almost any picture frame, so pictures snap into focus very quickly. And its menus are considerably better than any picture frame, which are generally challenging to use. It's also easy to change settings on the iPad's touchscreen display. We found none of the viewing angle problems that plague many photo frames: when we looked at the iPad from the side, top or bottom, it didn't change color or tone. We also found that some of the slideshow transitions, like the one Apple calls "origami," were impressive.

Cons

The iPad did fall a bit short in some ways. The biggest difficulty I encountered was getting images into the iPad (which I mentioned in my blog post on the iPad and digital photos), because it doesn't have a built-in card reader or USB port ,as picture frames do. You can use Apple's iTunes software to transfer images by syncing it to your computer. You can also email images to yourself, although that's not very practical for transferring lots of large photos. Or, you can spend $29 for Apple's optional camera connection kit (available in late April).

Another issue I found: To use the iPad as a frame in landscape mode on a stand, you need to plug it in, which means the cord will come out its side. To avoid this, you can run the iPad on battery power, but then you'll have to recharge it periodically. We think Apple needs to offer a better stand for the iPad.

Bottom line

Although the iPad may not be perfect as a photo frame, it's better than virtually any dedicated frame on the market. If you're looking for a dedicated frame, see our digital picture frame buying guide and Ratings of digital picture frames (available to subscribers).

—Terry Sullivan