While technology hasn't really kept its promise of making life easier, it has for the most part allowed us to do more of the things we were doing before. Our need for information hasn't gone away, but we now have computers and the Internet to pipe even more of it into our brains. Of course, we need to know more in order to learn more; witness the TV ads offering CD-ROM courses on how to use your computer. None of this means I get to work less!

Fortunately, there are new technologies that allow you to cram your brief trips between your home computer and your office computer with more enjoyable types of information. New devices called Portable Media Players promise to let you take your favorite tunes, television shows, and even movies - the MPAA willing - with you wherever you go. Units from Creative Labs, Archos, iRiver, and Samsung have all hit our shores and there are more on the way

With the average MSRP of these devices well above $300, the price of entry into this new world of smaller entertainment devices hasn't been cheap. Enter Pacific Digital and their $219.99 5x7 Personal Media Player. Seeing that there was no middle ground between the pricey Creative Zen PMP and the $60 Juicebox from toymaker Mattel, Pacific Digital built an option for consumers out of one of its existing specialties - digital picture frames.