Features & Specifications
Previously I reviewed a larger Axion digital picture frame that measured in at 10.4” called the AXN-9105M. The Axion AXN-9701 7” Widescreen LCD Digital Picture Frame is similar, but has less performance than the previous digital picture frame we reviewed from Axion. The screen is 7” and has a 480 x 234 pixel resolution. File compatibility is JPEG and MP3. The pair of speakers and MP3 playback ability allows you to set music to your slideshows if you desire.

The frame has a small amount of internal memory and holds 15 images, which isn’t that great considering the resolution is low. However, to augment the storage capacity the frame features a memory card reader that can read SD, MMC, xD, CF and Memory Stick cards. A USB jack built-in also allows you to save images to your flash drive and directly connect the drive to the frame for image viewing. A remote control allows you to flip the images to the correct orientation, turn the frame on and off, and manually control the images on screen. Hard buttons are also located behind the frame to allow you to manage images and settings.

The frame itself is a plain, clear acrylic that surrounds a white bezel for the display. It will fit with most room decors, but I greatly prefer the look of the faux wood on the previous Axion frame I reviewed. The clear plastic is a bit too modern looking in many rooms. The frame is powered by an included 9V power adapter.

Setup and Use
Set up of the AXN-9701 digital frame up is as easy as opening the box and connecting the frame to the wall outlet and inserting a storage device with photos. The stand built into the back of the frame can be rotated to allow you to use the frame in portrait or landscape modes. Visually the resolution of the screen leaves streaks along the images making them look like they have stripes or bands across them. This banding happens no matter what resolution your source images are saved as. The frame does do a very good job of resizing large images on the fly for use on the smaller display. None of the images I viewed on the Axion AXN-9701 7” Widescreen LCD Digital Picture Frame looked pinched, squished or other wise out of proportion.

The two main gripes I have with the Axion AXN-9701 7” Widescreen LCD Digital Picture Frame are the obvious banding of the on screen images caused by the low resolution and the placement of the USB port. It didn’t matter what size flash drive I plugged into the USB port the drive always stuck out past the frame bezel. This looks quite bad as you can imagine having a frame sitting on your desk with a flash drive sticking out of one side.

The simple fix to this would have been to put the USB port on the rear of the frame rather than the side. I’m honestly at a loss as to why they wouldn’t have done that. As it is, you have either to sacrifice one of your storage cards to holding images for the frame, or deal with the flash drive poking out from the side. The ability to display images directly from a flash drive is one of the most appealing aspects of this digital frame to me, and that is marred greatly by the placement of the USB port. The remote control does work well and allows you to control most ever function of the frame from across the room.