Other then that, the main advantage is portability. But since my pics are almost always going to post-processing, displaying the pics directly from the CF card does not do them justice.

Cool gizmo, too pricey for the limitations (see tech data).

"Useful, but a few caveats...", Got this "free" from Amazon recently, when I bought a Sandisk CompactFlash card. As some of the other reviews said, it was easy to hook up and worked great right out of the box. However, after using it a bit more, I have come up with a couple small issues. (NOTE: I have a Canon Digital Rebel 6.3MP camera and usually shoot large JPEGs.)

- The memory card reader is relatively slow at reading the large files generated by the camera. The JPEG files from the Digital Rebel are typically between 4 and 6 MB and they can take 10-15 seconds to display. This isn't much a problem during a slide show, but when you want to jump ahead it makes it difficult because the device seems like it isn't responding. You'd think with Sandisk being the current king of fast flash, that the reader would be quicker.

- The card reader cannot (or will not) read files larger than 5.3MB. You get an error on the screen saying as much, if you try. My pictures aren't typically this big, but depending the picture they can be, which is even more irritating because some pictures from a given card will show up while others won't.

- Another warning for those that use high quality digital SLRs etc, is that this camera reads ONLY JPEG files. It does not display RAW files, nor can it extract the embedded JPEGs. Of course, I didn't expect it to do so, but this may not be clear to other potential buyers.

Obviously, I could shoot lower quality (but if I spend that much on a camera, why would I?) or I could convert the images to smaller files on the PC (but this eliminates the ease of use factor). I think if I had paid for this product rather than receiving it free, the above issues might give enough reason for me to return it.

"But do you need it?", Interesting that the previous reviewer used this to view pictures taken on a Canon G3, while that camera, and many other cameras too, have the capability built in to view pictures on a television (NTSC or PAL). Also, these cameras allow you to view the videos you've taken too, whereas this device is limited to stills (JPEGs).
So, although this gadget looks good, check your camera first - you might not need this.
BTW: I gave this 4 stars based on the description (and because a rating is mandatory to submit a review) - I don't own one of these 'cos my Canon G2 connects to the TV just fine.

"WHY DON'T MORE PEOPLE BUY THIS", I can not understand why this item is not flying off store shelves. There are a lot of people that would love to get into digital photography, but either do not have a computer, or the skills necessary to get the photos from the camera to a DVD. Guess which one I am.

Every person that has seen the photo viewer that I purchased, has ordered one for themselves, even the cable guy that fixed my cable box. It is harder to get it out of it's package, than it is to set up. The instructions are not too clear, but I was up and running in less time than it took to type this sentence.

When I travel, I take tons of digital photos. When I get back, using a SanDisk reader/writer, I pick the best 50 photos, and write them to one SmartMedia card. Then using photo viewer, I show my pics to our family.

It works just as advertised, and has not been added to that big box of stuff that sounded good, but either was junk, or that I could not figure it out.

"GROUP PRESENTATIONS", I BELONG TO SEVERAL CLUBS AND ALWAYS RECORD EVENTS WITH MY " DIGITAL CAMERA....... NOW I CAN SHOW THE PICTURES TO THE WHOLE GROUP AT OUR MEETINGS.... ALSO YOU CAN UP LOAD PICTURES ON YOUR CAMERA CHIP AND SHOW THEM..... IT IS REALLY NEAT AND I GET LOTS OF POSITIVE COMMENTS....... ENJOY!!!!!!!