RMI Corporation has a great article about extending the capabilities of digital picture frames.
According to Behrooz Abdi, president and chief executive officer of RMI, “Our HMP initiative extends the product features that our customers are implementing today for next generation consumer devices. The added functionality that RMI brings with the 700MHz Au1250 processor creates a new category of products that extends way beyond the standard digital photo frame. The HMP solution brings home connectivity, wireless networking, Internet access and streaming video to make this a truly significant product in the home networking and consumer market.”
Click on the RMI link to read the entire article.
You can also read this article on DigiTimes.
The DigiTimes has an interesting post up about the makers of digital photo frame panels. Apparently, several sources have estimated that panel shipments are down, and that the supply of digital panels will be evenly split among digital picture frames, portable DVD players, and netbooks.
Read about the projections for digital photo frames right here.
This is my own wireless digital picture frame, by the way. It’s a Digital Spectrum MF8104, and it’s my prized possession. I can never resist the temptation to brag about it. My wireless picture frame, and FrameChannel, have enhanced the lives of my entire family. The LCD panel on my frame makes the pictures clear and bright and beautiful.
From the April 30 DIGITIMES comes this news about OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) digital photo frame orders:
“In view of the estimated global demand for 20 million digital photo frames in 2008, many makers in southern China have offered lower prices to compete with Taiwan-based makers for OEM orders, but their disadvantages in inferior quality and inability to secure supplies of small-sized TFT-LCD panels renders them unattractive to international brand vendors including Phillips, Sony, Toshiba, and ViewSonic, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Most makers in southern China used to assemble digital music and/or DVD players and thereby are familiar with image processing and modulating technologies, the sources pointed out. AS the technological barriers for stepping into making digital photo frames are not high, makers have quoted prices 5-8% lower than Taiwan-based makers to compete for OEM orders.
However, compared with leading Taiwan-based competitors such as Lead Data, Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Qisda, China-based makers are significantly less competitive in terms of quality, production capacity and ability to procure enough TFT-LCD panels (mainly 7- and 8.9-inch) partly due to competition from low-costs notebook PC’s and handheld devices, the sources analyzed.
Consequently, it will be hard for china-based makers to land OEM orders from leading international vendors for the time being, the sources asserted, and so the makers are currently focusing on winning orders from second-tier and small vendors, white-box brands, as well as retail channels, the sources noted.
Currently, leading Taiwan-based makers each ship 200,000 – 300,000 digital photo frames a month while the average monthly shipment volume for China-based competitors is below 100,000 units, the sources indicated. Of the estimated global demand for 20 million digital photo frames in 2008, Taiwan-based makers may collectively account for as much as 90% of shipments with China-based makers making up the remaining 10%, the sources forecast.”
There’s more news about the three awesome Sony digital picture frames that we featured here at FrameMedia last February!
According to the April 24 DIGITIMES:
“Lite-On IT has secured OEM orders for digital photo frames from Sony, with shipments to begin in the second quarter of 2008, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Online orders for three Sony digital photo frames for sale under its own brand S-Frame, the 7-inch DPF-D700, the 7-inch DPF-V700, and the 9-inch DPF-V900, opened in March 2008.
Succeeding in competition with other Taiwan-based makers including Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Lead Data and Qisda, Lite-On IT has landed OEM orders for the DPF-D700 and DPF-V700 models, the sources indicated.
Lite-On IT obtained OEM orders for digital photo frames from Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2007, with production outsourced to Taiwan-based maker Action Electronics, the sources noted. For Sony’s orders, however, Lite-On IT will . . . be responsible for production.”
