Review: Pandigital PanTouch Clear 8″ (PAN8000DWPCF1)
Written on Dec 11, 2009 by MKowalski and filed under Pandigital, Reviews
Note: This is a review of the Pandigital PanTouch Clear 8″ PAN8000DWPCF1. Pandigital also makes a 7″ version, called the PanTouch Clear 7″ PAN7003DWPCF1. The frames are identical outside of the screen size.
Not so long ago, if you wanted a touch screen in your digital photo frame, you had to settle for the fact that said frame would be bigger and bulkier than its touch-free brethren. As a rule, it was reasonable to expect that a frame would either have lots of novel tech, or that it would have the sleek look of a traditional photo frame – but finding both in the same package was usually too much to ask.
Pandigital is just the latest manufacturer to buck this trend in 2009 with the launch of the ultra-thin, touch-screen equipped Pantouch Clear series. With gift giving season upon us, could the Pantouch Clear be the sleek melding of form and function that you’ve been waiting for?
Build and Design
Baby brother of the 10.4-inch Pantouch Clear that garnered a fair bit of tech buzz when it launched earlier in the year, the 8-inch Pantouch Clear (officially, the less than elegantly named PAN8000DWPCF1) sports the same innovative touch-screen technology as its larger sibling.
While nothing about the frame screams “touch screen” at first glance, it’s hard not to notice just how thin this device is. Like many newer frames, the Pantouch Clear models utilize a display unit that’s complete separate from the actual frame – in much the same way that a picture sits inside a traditional photo frame. And with the Pantouch Clear’s display components coming in at well under half an inch thick, this frame looks appreciably less awkward than most of its digital counterparts hanging on a wall.
In theory, thumbscrews that retain the display unit in the frame mean that the Pantouch Clear should allow users to swap out the supplied dark brown surround for a different version. In practice, however, sensors for the device’s touch system are embedded into the frame itself (which explains the Mini USB connection from frame to display unit), meaning that if you want the touch controls to work, not just any frame will do.
The Pantouch Clear’s specific touch implementation is unique in the digital picture frame world: rather than using touch-sensitive borders or mats (a la Kodak) or even the touch-responsive LCDs seen on some other frames, the Pantouch Clear allows the entire display area to respond to finger input by building touch response into the glass panel that covers the display itself. As noted, a series of sensors built into the frame itself collect touch data from anywhere on sheet of glass that sits above the mat. This unique approach allows this device to incorporate full-screen touch technology without compromising the look and feel of a traditional glass-over-photo picture frame.
Stylistically, the decision to incorporate touch technology in this way also allows the Pantouch Clear to boast interchangeable mats. The box comes stocked with three choices: a conventional “full coverage” cream-colored mat, as well as cream and grey half-mats that leave a strip of clear glass between the mat and the edge of the frame.
The only potential downside to this more modern look, however is that the clear strip allows you to see through to the frame’s power cord connection and card slots.
A rotating, retractable stand makes the Pantouch Clear ready for desktop use, and a supplied stand extension allows further adjustment of the frame’s viewing angle (especially important for using the device in portrait mode, where the attached stand is barely long enough to hold up the device even when fully extended). Nail recesses allow for wall mounting in either landscape or portrait orientation. There’s also a Mini USB connection on the back of the device, allowing direct-to-computer connections with the supplied cable.
The Pantouch Clear sports touch-screen as well as remote control, but that didn’t stop designers from including a slate of five control buttons for basic function access on the display unit’s top panel.
The right-hand side of the device hosts most of the frame’s connections, with a multi-card slot supporting the common smaller media as well as a separate Compact Flash reader, and a full-size USB port for directly connecting flash drives to transfer images. On the opposite side, you’ll find the frame’s main power switch and volume wheel.
Memory/Picture Sources
With a pair of card readers, dual USB connections, and even optional Wi-Fi, the Pantouch Clear gets serious about getting images, videos, and music from wherever they currently live onto this device. The smaller multi-card reader supports the standard formats – SD/SDHC, xD, and Memory Stick – although it should be noted that Memory Stick support is limited to the larger MS formats: you’ll have to provide your own adapter if your camera shoots on Sony’s smaller “Duo” Memory Stick formats.
DSLR users will also be happy to learn that Pandigital has thoughtfully supplied a CF slot – an increasingly unusual touch in photo frames these days. Of course, pulling files from USB flash drives is also an option, and the Pantouch Clear seemed to have little trouble finding supported files regardless of where they resided in the drive’s file structure. Likewise, connecting the device to a computer via the supplied USB cable worked flawlessly: the Pantouch Clear appeared as a mass storage device, allowing me to directly manipulate the contents of the frame’s memory to my liking.
When it comes to memory, the Pantouch Clear packs in a lot of it. A full gigabyte to be exact, which Pandigital claims is enough to store more than 6,000 images. Assuming you leave the frame set to its default automatic resizing option (which converts all imported images to screen resolution before saving them) this should be a fair estimate of the Pantouch Clear’s capacity, and even if you opt to copy over full-size files instead, 1 GB should permit the storage of hundreds if not thousands of shots. Of course, given that the frame also handles video and audio formats, that extra bit of storage space is a nice plus.
Display Modes
The Pantouch Clear sports five basic functions in its main menu, with playback for photos, videos, and music, as well as a clock/calendar function and a unique if unusual “Recipe” mode (more on that in a later section). Of course, most users will spend most of their time in the photo playback mode, which works very much like similar modes on other devices. The Pantouch Clear utilizes a slideshow approach to photo playback by default, though users can opt to view all photos on a particular memory source as thumbnails instead by clicking the “Manage” option.
Overall, the frame offers a nice array of options for slideshow presentation, including the ability to add background music, select from a dozen or so frame-to-frame-transitions, and set how long each image holds on the screen.
In another nice touch, users can also put the slideshow on a time-specified schedule by selecting the “Run Program” option in playback mode – a great option for commercial or retail use. There’s also a separate sleep mode option for powering off the frame automatically. Conversely, I found the slideshow options a bit difficult to configure: the frame’s touch interface requires you to click through each option in a list one at a time (rather than providing a drop-down menu), meaning simple tasks like changing the transition style or shot-to-shot interval can become more involved than they should.
Video and audio playback are equally intuitive, though the demarcation between the playback and management areas in these two modes is somewhat less clear. The Pantouch Clear had not problem smoothly playing back MP3 audio loaded to its internal memory, and even handled common-format video files from an SD card without concern. As expected, audio quality is a little “canned” in both cases, and can sound extremely muffled with the frame hanging on the wall. The Pantouch Clear’s physical volume control dial is also somewhat inconveniently located for quick access – especially when the frame is wall mounted.
A basic but attractive clock/calendar mode rounds out the Pantouch Clear’s complement of mode choices. Options for changing the look and feel of this mode are somewhat limited, but users can set alarms or reminders via the touch interface – a nice addition for desktop or bedside use.
Menu System
Although the frame has physical controls as well as a remote, navigating the Pantouch Clear’s menus mostly requires dealing with the frame’s touch interface. Compared to other touch screens we’ve reviewed, Pantouch’s system is innovative in design, but somewhat less functional in practice – often requiring several attempts to get a press to register. This, combined with a slight but apparent lag, hardly makes the frame unusable, but can be a bit obnoxious if you’re wading deep into the menus.
On that note, the menu system itself also proves to be a little clunky (there’s no direct way to get from a running slideshow straight to the main menu, for instance). For quick access to basic functions, the back-mounted physical controls or the frame’s remote are actually easier to deal with than the touch interface. Moreover, the menu is multi-layered and circular at times, though to Pandigital’s credit, it’s also attractively laid out with relatively clear options. In short, the menu system is a mixed bag: it’s certainly not among the most difficult interfaces I’ve dealt with, but it does lack the polish and careful planning that tends to separate good devices from exceptional ones.
Display
Beneath its glass touch-responsive layer, the Pantouch Clear sports an 8-inch conventional LCD. At 800×600, resolution is par for the course in this class of devices, and the Pantouch Clear opts for the familiar 4:3 aspect ratio common to shots from most consumer digital cameras as well.
Colors are bright and vibrant, although I did note that contrast wasn’t as strong – even after making some adjustments – on this frame as on some others we’ve looked at. Having a touch-responsive glass panel over the top of the display is also a mixed blessing: I, for one, prefer the more traditional look of a frame with a glass overlay, but it’s undeniable that the sheet can cause severe glare depending on viewing angle and room lighting conditions. Plus, there’s the added concern of fingerprint smudges, which proved distracting after even moderate use. To the Pantouch Clear’s credit, the display features user-adjustable brightness, contrast, tint, and color. But with slightly soft colors and relatively poor viewing angles, the Pantouch Clear’s display is a mixed bag at best.
Extra Features
If we gave out awards for “Strangest Extra Feature” on a digital photo frame, the Pantouch Clear might well be in the hunt with its built-in cookbook. That’s right: the frame comes pre-loaded with recipes from several popular magazines, and you can add more by – how else? – purchasing them online. Of course, the recipes themselves are nothing more than image files stored in a special folder on the frame’s memory, and while this seems like one of those things that few users would ever have the desire to take advantage of, it’s conceptually interesting, at least.
In the same vein, the Pantouch Clear also features optional Wi-Fi – via a wireless radio module that can be purchased from Pandigital. Unfortunately, our test unit didn’t come so equipped, so I couldn’t say how well the frame’s wireless implementation works, or whether the USB adapter is worth the roughly $30 you’ll have to shell out for one.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the Pantouch Clear is a solid option for anyone looking for touch-screen functionality in a digital photo frame. Neither the most tech-loaded device on the market, nor a bare bones model, Pandigital’s latest shows off a good slate of technology that actually makes sense for most users. The device itself is attractive, modular, and easy to configure, and the few minor nits with the interface’s polish are relatively easy to overlook. In short, it may not be the absolute best touch-screen photo frame of 2009, but the Pantouch Clear has enough nicely implemented nifty-ness to justify the price.
Pros:
- Unique touch-screen approach
- Flawless video and audio playback
- Plenty of memory (and a CF slot too!)
- Configurable with included mats, optional Wi-Fi
Cons:
- Interface can lag at times
- Menus circular, not always clear
- Image quality isn’t top shelf
Rating – 4 out of 5 stars
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