Nestled among the cheap GPS devices and novelty small-screened digital photo frames Nextar was showing at Showstoppers this week was a portable digital picture frame that resembled the pictured  My Life Digital Photo Album sold by Brookstone for about $100.  (Brookstone previously sold a 20 GB hard drive-based version that cost $300.) While the Nextar device will also feature a 3.5″ screen, it will cost only about $50.

It looks as though QVC has been making a small push with this (sub-)category. It features three battery-powered digital picture viewers with 3.5″ frames, including the recently released classy HP model that seems more intended for desktop use but has a rechargeable battery and carrying case.

I’ve always thought this product had some potential for the less technical  crowd hat had cell phones with small screens or couldn’t figure out how to get photos onto their cell phones. I’m sure Kodak must be considering getting back in after struggling with a well-executed but relatively pricey model a few years back. It was smaller and thinner than any of these models, but had only a 2.5″ screen, which is very common on digital cameras these days.