Kodak EasyShare M1020

With the settings appropriately adjusted, all the images stored on the device or on the card will fill up the screen perfectly, so you won’t have any issues with black bands and such. You may just find a bit of the edges cropped, but it's not too much to be a bother. The images appear crisp and clear, and look really good. The funny thing is if you change the viewing orientation to portrait, only the images will be adjusted – the entire menu system remains unchanged.

The M1020 reads video files in MPEG1 and MPEG4 formats, so you can watch videos. It also supports MP3 music playback through its built-in speakers, and you can opt for a little background music while viewing slideshows. The playback is a bit tinny, so don’t expect loud or crystal clear music from the speakers. It doesn’t sound too bad via earphones though. The M1020 also has a Clock and Timer, so the device can automatically shut down at a designated time chosen by you.

The DPF can be hooked up to a printer directly for printing, and of course connected via USB to a PC for data transfer. With 128MB of onboard memory there’s plenty of space to store images without having to worry about storage cards. Another good feature is the SD card slot. The card slips completely into the slot that’s spring-loaded for retrieval. Simply push the card in and it pops right out.

I was a bit disappointed, however, to see that this DPF requires to be run on DC with no provisions for batteries. That means you’ll have to keep it near a wall socket all the time. This is one of the few DPFs I’ve seen that doesn’t come with a remote control or a bundled USB cable.

The Bottomline
I think the M1020 is a really good lifestyle product. It has a large, clear display that brings out the best in your photos. Music quality isn’t too great, but then it’s not a PMP, right? And videos, although they’ll need to be specially encoded, don’t look too bad either. It costs Rs 10,999, so it’s quite a good choice for those of you who can afford it.