Digital Foci Photo Book Review

Digital Foci is challenging the traditional photo album with its new digital Photo Book. Users are able to view their digital uploads on its 8.0-inch LCD complete with a host of added features, including music and video support. But do we really need digital photo books? Aren’t laptops and photo-sharing sites good enough? Let's take a look.

Digital Foci Photo Book Specifications:

• Display: 8.0-inch LCD (800x600)
• Dimensions: 10.5x7x1-inches
• Weight: 2.2 lbs
• Capacity: 4GB
• Battery: Rechargeable lithium polymer (2.5 hours)
• Speaker: One channel, 1.4-watt speaker
• Memory card support: CF, SD, SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick, MS PRO, xD
• Image formats: JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, RAW
• Video formats: MJPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-4 SP
• Audio formats: MP3, AAC, WMA
• Text format: TXT
• OS support: Windows Vista, XP, 2000; Mac OS 10.5 & 10.4
• Available in 10 languages
• Arrives with one-year warranty
• MSRP: $190

BUILD AND DESIGN
At 2.2-pounds, the Photo Book is relatively heavy, but also has a sense of hardiness and build-quality to the touch. The device comes built into a cheesy plastic-leather case and is available in either black or white. The case opens like a book and is secured shut by a hidden magnet, a feature that I found convenient and reliable, and certainly preferable to Velcro.

 
After folding back the casing you are met by the electronic device complete with its hard plastic shell and eight-inch LCD. The display seems flimsy and bleeds easily from pressure. I suppose that's the tradeoff with non-glossy LCD displays that resist glare better than their glossy counterparts. The screen is offset leftward, while the buttons - menu, back, four-way controller, "OK" and volume/zoom - are positioned to the right along with the speaker. At a glance, the layout is very simple.

On the side of the device sit two housing portals. One of the portals is exclusively for a Compact Flash card, while the other is for all others, including an SD card. There is also a mini USB connection. Beware trying to open the protective flaps covering these portals, as they are unnecessarily difficult to pry open and will most likely force you into breaking a nail or breaking the plastic.

Finally, the power button is on the bottom of the device, and that doubles as a battery meter denoted by color, a factory reset button and an input for the AC power adapter. 

The Photo Book comes equipped with an AC power adapter, USB cable, USB adapter, and the manual.  Its lithium polymer battery, which can last up to 2.5 hours, can be charged via AC or USB connection.