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Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite 80 GB - 3.6" Portable Digital Picture Viewer with 2.5" Hard Drive & Card Reader, Color: Black

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computer hook-up, television hook-up, audio/video copying, etc. are included. The unit also comes with a small remote control unit. The carrying case (also included; and actual leather, I think) is well made and has both a belt clip and carrying strap.

(Con) The main unit is also used as the battery charger, which ties up the device while you recharge the battery. (Note: An external battery charger and spare battery is available if you want to spend the extra money.)

Operating System, Control Buttons & Functions:

(Pro) Downloading pictures from a memory card is quick and easy. Just pop in a memory card and the backup menu appears automatically. Choose the desired backup option, press "ok" with the joystick button, and the backup begins.

(Con) The joystick button -- used to navigate, select a function, rotate photos, etc. -- is so tiny and overly sensitive that I find myself constantly choosing the wrong function with it. Just as a side note, I'm a female with relatively small hands. I imagine it would be much worse for a man with larger hands. (Pro/Work-Around) You can choose to use the remote control instead on the onboard joystick.

(Con) The operating system does not have built-in move or copy functions. To perform these operations, you have to cut/copy the item and then paste it in the new location. This is a slow and painful process! Also, the operating system does not have a built-in function for creating a new folder. (Pro/Work-Around) You can connect the Picture Porter to a desktop or laptop computer (via the supplied USB cable). The computer will see the Picture Porter as a removable hard drive. You can then use Windows Explorer to perform file and folder management functions, defrag the built in disk, etc.

(Con) When viewing "portrait mode" photos, the picture porter DOES NOT automatically rotate the picture for you. (Workaround) You can use the joystick or remote control to rotate the picture manually.


Screen/Speakers:

(Pro) The screen resolution and image quality are very good ... even when zooming in on a photo.

(Con) The screen is smaller than I expected. The specs say 3.6"; but mind you, that is the diagonal screen measurement. The actual screen is just under 3" wide. Unless you have the eyesight of a hawk, the screen is really too small for watching videos/movies.

(Con) The sound quality from the tiny built in speaker's is awful. For decent sound, you have to use the earphones (included) or external speaker (not included).

(Con) The earphones act as an antenna for the radio; so you can't listen to the radio without using them.

Other Comments:

Size & portable are relative. This unit is by far preferable to lugging around a laptop; but it is not a tiny, fit in your jeans pocket, device. In its case, the unit measures 5" wide x 3" tall x 1.75" deep and weighs just a fraction over 1 pound.

Don't be fooled by all the "extra features" this media player has. Aside from the ability to download directly from a memory card, and the massive storage capacity, most (if not all) of the features of this unit are available on a much smaller and less expensive MP3 player. There is no way I would it carry this unit with me on a daily basis ... e.g. as my "brag book" for showing off pictures of my grandkids, or to listen to my MP3 music files. It's just too bulky for that! And, as I mentioned earlier, the screen is really too small to be a serious video/movie viewer.

All things considered, if I had it to do over again, I'd buy the 40Gb model instead of the 80Gb. I bought the 80Gb model in anticipation of using it as my photo "brag book" and music player; but as I mentioned above, it's really too bulky for that.

I have tried to be honest and objective in my review of this product and I hope this helps you in making a decision whether or not to buy it.

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Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite 80 GB - 3.6" Portable Digital Picture Viewer with 2.5" Hard Drive & Card Reader, Color: Black

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and viewing digital photos, it didn't seem worth it to take up precious luggage space with the Picture Porter Elite, especially considering its substantial heft and rather limited functionality. It may appeal a lot more to dedicated photo enthusiasts who won't mind lugging it along in order to reliably preserve their photos. Since Apple hasn't seen fit to create a new camera connector for their latest generation iPods, I'll probably end up springing for a Creative Zen or other similar product that has good multimedia capabilities and a built-in SD card reader to back up photos.

+ 0 likes

Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite 80 GB - 3.6" Portable Digital Picture Viewer with 2.5" Hard Drive & Card Reader, Color: Black

...

and viewing digital photos, it didn't seem worth it to take up precious luggage space with the Picture Porter Elite, especially considering its substantial heft and rather limited functionality. It may appeal a lot more to dedicated photo enthusiasts who won't mind lugging it along in order to reliably preserve their photos. Since Apple hasn't seen fit to create a new camera connector for their latest generation iPods, I'll probably end up springing for a Creative Zen or other similar product that has good multimedia capabilities and a built-in SD card reader to back up photos.