Axcedkee 10.1-inch Frameo Frame

The screen is 10.1 inches across in a black frame, and IPS technology keeps colours true when seen from the pillow or from the side of the desk. Axcedkee calls the panel HD and does not publish a pixel count, so the practical guide is the size: roughly the picture area of a standard printed photo in a large mount.

What makes this frame different from other 10.1-inch Frameo frames:

• A full-size SD slot, which takes the card straight from a camera without an adapter.
• A USB port for a FAT32 flash drive.
• Computer transfer by USB-C cable, for moving a folder from a laptop.
• 32GB built in plus up to 32GB on a card or stick, which Axcedkee puts at over 50,000 photos.
• A two-year manufacturer warranty, twice the usual cover on a frame this size.

The small size has its own advantages at night. A 10.1-inch screen gives off far less light than a big living-room frame, and with the brightness turned down and the sleep hours set, it can sit a foot from the pillow without keeping anyone awake. In the morning it wakes with the slideshow already running, often with photos that arrived overnight from relatives in another time zone.

It arrives in a gift box, ready to be wrapped. The stand holds it on a table, and it can also hang on a wall where a bedside is too crowded.

That opens the frame to relatives without smartphones. A son can bring the card from his camera, a daughter can load a USB stick with holiday photos, and a grandchild can plug in a laptop on a visit. The card or stick can also stay in the frame as extra storage, since Axcedkee lets it serve as external memory.

A typical USB import takes a few minutes:

1. Format the stick as FAT32 on a computer.
2. Copy the photos, in JPG, JPEG, BMP or PNG, and any MP4 videos.
3. Push the stick into the frame and choose the import option.
4. Pick the photos to keep, then leave the stick in or take it out.

Videos copied this way are not bound by the 15-second limit that applies to clips sent through the free Frameo app. That makes the stick the right route for a longer family film, such as a wedding speech or a school play.

The frame also has volume control, so clips with sound can be turned down for a quiet bedroom.

The computer route is the quickest for a big clear-out of old albums. Connect the laptop with a USB-C cable, copy the folders of scanned prints across, and the frame holds them in its own memory from then on, with no stick left sticking out of the side.

For everyone else, photos arrive through the app, as described in adding photos to a Frameo frame.

Two small features make the photos feel personal once they land:

• React. Tap a photo and send an emoji back, and the sender sees it on their phone. It is a two-second way of saying the picture arrived and made someone smile.
• Fill the frame. Choose the main part of a photo, and the frame crops it to fill the screen instead of showing black bars around a picture taken in a different shape.

Auto-rotate turns each photo to match how the frame stands, upright or sideways. Brightness adjusts for a dim bedroom, and a sleep mode switches the screen off automatically when the household goes to bed.

Everyday settings for the owner:

1. Set the sleep hours so the screen is dark overnight.
2. Lower the brightness if the frame sits by the bed.
3. Hide any photo that should stay out of the slideshow.
4. Raise or lower the volume for video clips.

All of it happens on the touch screen, with no remote. The first start asks for the Wi-Fi, a language and a name for the frame, covered in setting up a Frameo frame.

Once stored, photos keep playing even when the router is off, so a power cut or a holiday does not leave the frame blank.

Among other 10.1-inch Frameo frames, MaxAngel's adds a calendar and six finishes, and Pastigio's offers a microSD slot and Windows computer transfer in an embossed frame. The Axcedkee's strengths are the full-size SD slot and the two-year warranty.

Some families buy both sizes. The 15.6-inch frame goes in the lounge where visitors gather, and the 10.1-inch one sits by the bed. The Frameo app lets a sender tick both frames at once, so one tap fills both screens with the same new photos, and a single USB stick can load the same archive into each.

Four checks before you buy:

1. The distance. A 10.1-inch screen suits viewing from an arm's length to a few steps.
2. The router. Confirm the 2.4GHz band is on; the Wi-Fi help explains why.
3. A socket. The frame runs on mains power.
4. The archive. If old photos live on a camera card, the full-size SD slot takes it directly.

All the 10.1-inch Frameo frames are compared on the 10.1-inch frame guide.