Photo frames get wired - CE & entertainment: what's hot what's new what's happening - digital displays for digital photos are becoming increasingly popular option

DSN Retailing Today, August 18, 2003 by Lauryn Slotnick

Digital imaging devices may have secured a firm foothold in the U.S. photo market, but the industry has yet to resolve the increasingly troubling issue of what will emerge as the medium of choice for displaying digital pictures. Currently, the digital photography DIY market is winning out, with many consumers opting to print out images from digital photo booths and home computers and display them in conventional frames and albums. But the option of digital display, an idea as old as the personal computer itself, is gaining momentum and bringing many more consumer options to market.

When 75% of people who take digital images share them, as estimated by the Photo Marketing Association (PMA), or pass them on to other people, it is clear there is a market for digital photo display accessories. Products for displaying digital photos cover a wide range of styles, options and prices, with electronic frames that allow consumers to showcase digital image files being the most prevalent. Among national manufacturers, Kodak has taken the lead with its Kodak Smart Picture Frame, available on Amazon.com for $379.99.

The frame itself has a cherry finish, and the viewable color LCD screen is 5 inches by 4 inches and displays in 640 x 480 resolution. It uses JPEG file format and can take images from CompactFlash cards or Kodak's StoryBox Network. Another prominent offering in the market is Ceiva's Digital Photo Receiver. Retailing at $149.99, it is based on file transfer from the Internet and requires a subscription to Ceiva network. Digital Frames' Digital Picture Frame, retailing for $299.99, was designed to be easy to use, with no computer or Internet connection required, an 8-inch by 10-inch LCD with 800 x 600 resolution for photos and a rotating stand for vertical or horizontal placement or to mount on the wall. Consumers can change the picture in a frame without so much as taking it off the wall--many operate with a button or even a remote control.

Pacific Digital has also entered the category with its Digital Photo Memory Frame, a new way to display photos instantly without a PC or even memory cards. The Memory Frame has an SRP of $329.99, but sells for $299.99 and $299.88 at Office Depot and J&R Electronics, respectively. It enables consumers to quickly transfer photos directly from a digital camera or PC and to play them back in a slide show. Images are high-resolution and give digital photographers an easy way to showcase their photos. The USB interface allows users to download immediately from a camera with a simple high-speed USB transfer. The Memory Frame can sit on a desk or shelf, or be hung on a wall, and can be mixed and matched with any off-the-shelf 5-inch by 7-inch picture frame.

At the extreme high end of the sector--for the consumer who is first to buy everything--is the Digi-Frame, which has a retail price at about $3,000 but can be found for $2,300. The Digi-Frame is compatible with Kodak Picture CDs, can play MP3s and video (MPEG-1) as well as show stills (JPEG), accepts standard 16-inch by 20-inch frames and has a 13.38-inch by 10.58-inch screen and a built-in 10GB hard drive. Perhaps products like the Digi-Frame will go the way of plasma televisions and experience significant drops in prices as well as great increases in sales.

For now, more reasonably priced devices for viewing digital photos do exist, and include those that plug into consumers' televisions to create a simple way to view and enjoy digital photos. No computer is needed, and memory cards from a camera are inserted directly into the photo viewer or player. Brands include the SanDisk Digital Photo Viewer, which sells for $79.99 at Circuit City, and the Lexar Digital Photo Player II, also which retails for $79.99 at Wolf Camera and Ritz Camera. They are touted as the simplest way to view and enjoy digital photos and are perfect for people without a computer. Gary Pageau from PMA explains that consumers want to be able to show pictures without booting up a computer or needing to rely to e-mail, so products that allow them to do so are taking over the digital photo display section of the market.

The SanDisk version allows consumers to use a remote control to watch personalized slide shows, as well as to preview, delete, rotate and zoom. It accepts media cards by CompactFlash I and II, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, SecureDigital and MultiMediaCard. Other features include supporting JPEG files up to six megapixels, an automatic slide show delay (0 to 60 seconds) and display options of English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese and Japanese. The Lexar is a new version and also includes options to make start/stop automatic slide shows, scroll-through images, rotate, zoom and delete, and supports the same memory cards as the SanDisk. It can display JPEG images created by cameras of up to six megapixels as well, and comes with the cable for standard composite video connection. The Lexar player works with both NTSC and PAL television systems.

Using a PC, there are programs available to make photo "shows" or presentations with photographs already in digital form. Some examples are Kai's Power Show CD for Win/Mac, available from Staples and other retailers, and Roxio Photosuite and Adobe Photoshop Album, which allow consumers to sort digital photos into electronic "albums" on their computers.