A digital frame that doubles as a photo printer

(Sony)

Sony's latest gadget makes digital and physical photo-sharing easy with a digital frame that doubles as a photo printer.

Sony's DPP-F700 S-Frame sports a 7-inch, 16-by-10 ratio LCD display with a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels. The integrated printer sits unobtrusively behind the screen enabling users to create professional quality (300x300dpi) photo prints in 45 seconds flat.

Images can be edited before printing using the included photo-editing software. Those with a creative edge can also add fancy borders, make their own photo-calendars, print out ID photos or create photo-collages with multiple images.

The device can store up to 2,000 photos on the frame's one gigabyte of on-board memory.

Sony's digital frame-printer is not the first to be released on the market. US-based electronics company SmartParts was the first to release a digital frame with an in-built printer in February 2008.

Japanese electronics maker Epson also recently launched a photo-frame-printer in Japan called the Colorio Me E-800 postcard printer (the device comes with a price tag of about $600). The Colorio is shipped with a wireless keyboard and is tailored to the Japanese market -- where it is customary to send friends and family printed postcards featuring images of your family to mark the coming of the New Year on January 1.

Sony's DPP-F700 S-Frame will be available in the US in January for $200.