I am increasingly fond of the idea of a paperless portfolio. Nevermind the technical reasons prints are still better (more reliable color accuracy, better dynamic range, smoother tonality), LCDs have gotten competent enough as a whole to be useful enough, and most photos will look considerably snappier on a good LCD than on a good print, if you ask me. I have a new PMP (portable media player, for those of you not in-the-know) on its way, and I’ve already exported a collection of pictures to load it up with in case I need to show off some work on the spur of a moment. Sure, the resolution isn’t the best, but t’s got a nice shiny screen that gives the contrast a bump and ends with things not looking entirely accurate, but certainly “poppy” enough for your average viewer.

That’s a Zune, the smaller screen of iPods might work less well for this. The iPhone and the iPod Touch, though, would make sharp little portfolios, and I bet in this business there’re already quite a few of you in possession of those.

And, when you need something more than just a little screen, there’s always the Digital Foci Photo Album, which got some attention way back when it was announced and which I have finally had a moment to play with myself.

My thoughts?

The Good:

• Nice screen size
• Decent Price Point
• Good card support
• Snappy response time (given the size of the files I was feeding it)
• Consumer-friendly layout effects (love the simulated turning pages)
• Really nice case and build quality

The Weak:

• Screen dynamic range washes out a bit in highlights
• Choices of interface limited and… interesting….
• No orientation sensor (yeah, I’m spoiled)

It also claims RAW support, but I didn’t get to test that. So it goes. Check out the rest in this slideshow here, though, and remember: portable devices could be a very trendy, easy, and fairly Eco-friendly way to show off your shots. Whether as a pro to clients or just to grandma.