Pandigital PAN1502W02 15-Inch Digital Picture Frame
At a Glance
The 15-inch PanDigital PAN1502W02 ($252 as of 5/7/2009) offers features similar to those of its smaller, 10.4-inch sibling, the PAN1002W02T. This frame, too, sports a 1024-by-768 pixel resolution and a 4:3 aspect ratio. It supports the same media (CompactFlash, MicroDrive, MemoryStick, MMC, SD, and xD, plus USB drives) and has 512MB of internal memory. The package for the 15-inch model likewise includes a second frame, so you can swap between espresso and black. A mat and a glass front help give the illusion of an old-fashioned picture frame.
Also in the box is a remote, which worked well in my tests. The frame features a headphone jack and alarm and calendar functions. You'll find the PanTouch mat on this model, too, and it functions in the same way as it does on the 10.4-inch edition. You can use the remote instead of the frame for all functions except power--a frustrating, but not unique, design flaw.
Like its smaller sibling, the PAN1502W02 serves up good-looking images that were pretty true to our original test images, though a bit cooler. However, the frame lets you adjust tint, color, contrast, and brightness, so you can fine-tune things any way you like. Slide-show features are standard, but this model also has a shuffle feature, which is missing on some other frames we tested. You can play MP3s with your pictures. The frame also supports AVI media files.
Alas, as with the 10.4-inch model, we found that although the frame is supposedly Bluetooth- and Wi-Fi-compatible, you must buy a special dongle from the company to access photo-sharing sites or RSS feeds. And though you get a large size for your money, this frame is pricey. We also encountered a major irritant: During slide shows, a blue or green arrow appeared on screen and would not go away. PanDigital has since issued a firmware upgrade that the company says will resolve the problem.
--Kathleen Cullen
