Courtesy WalletPix is a great concept, but the screen is too small and murky.

WalletPix ($29.99) looks like a great idea. Too bad it doesn't get the picture when it comes to, well, showing pictures.

The concept is cool enough — a credit card-sized device that stores up to 58 digital photos and displays them on a screen a bit bigger than a square inch.

WalletPix's built-in software sizes each image for the device, and you can view said pics as a slideshow or scroll through them with backward and forward buttons. The gadget is portable as well as pocket-sized, so there's no more accordion of baby photos in your wallet.

It's also a cinch to use. Just connect it to your PC (sorry, no Macs) with the provided USB cable and click the Add Image button to find pics you want. You can change the order of photos as well as crop and rotate.

Now if only what you saw on WalletPix was just as cool.

The gadget's tiny screen is a waste of space considering you only have a power button and two scroll buttons. (Why not put them on the shoulders and make the screen bigger?) Screen resolution is decent, but the display gets pretty murky if you tilt it down toward yourself ever so slightly. Which makes the built-in stand useless unless you look at a pic straight on.

Techies will scoff at WalletPix for its chintzy construction and underwhelming display. But it could make an OK gift for a grandparent or child who doesn't know any better. Or care.

René A. Guzman | 210SA Contributor