Digital photo frames to get connected

John Walko at Video Imaging Design Line gives us some very interesting statistics about silicon providers for digital picture frames:

Courtesy of EE Times Europe

LONDON — The total silicon opportunity for digital photo frame suppliers will exceed $550 million by 2013, according to market research group InStat.

Microcontrollers are said to represent the largest opportunity in non-wireless enabled devices.

In a major study of the sector, InStat also found that the bill of materials for a wireless 8-inch digital photo frame will fall below $36 by 2013, with the LCD, the wireless module and the enclosure being the dominant cost items.

The researchers predict worldwide unit shipments for all types of digital photo frames will reach 50 million by 2013.

However because of the trend to purchase digital photo frames as gifts pre-loaded with pictures, most units shipped still lack advanced features such as wireless connectivity to the Internet. Nevertheless, wireless-enabled photo frames are a key growth driver as they will grow at twice the rate of overall digital photo frames in 2010.

“Prices for connected frames will continue to decline, and as manufacturers educate consumers about these devices; the mass market will become more comfortable using the Internet services connected frames support,” says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst.

Ethier adds applications such as sharing and downloading pictures over the Internet, as well as streaming Internet radio and video from online sites like YouTube, will be the main drivers in the sector.

Some of the major digital photo frame vendors and their silicon providers are said to include HP, Kodak, Pandigital, Philips, Samsung, Sony, RMI Corporation, Marvell Technology Group, and Samsung Electronics.

** Separately, Conexant said Tuesday (June 30) it has started sampling a range of SoCs targeting the connected photo frame and interactive display appliances market.

The parts integrate integrate Internet connectivity and touch-screen technology. The CX92735 supports streaming media content, MP3 audio playback with slideshow functionality, and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity.

The device integrates an ARM9 processor with a vector floating point unit and a dedicated image processor, which simultaneously processes streamed content.

Chinavision’s “Guitarman” Is The Perfect Gift

Guitarman is a digital picture frame for your desk-top, and Chinavision has not only presented the digital world with a work of art; it has also given us a a wireless digital picture frame with internet capacities! Put it wherever you don’t already have regular access to a computer, and power it up with your laptop whenever needed.

The 2.4-inch TFT LCD photo frame is a great addition to any home or office. Simply plug it into your computer for an instant slide show from your computer or the internet. This frame does much more than just browse your computer for pictures, however. You can use this wireless frame to check the weather from up to five cities, and to peruse the headlines to keep up with what’s happening in the world today. Do you have a Flickr account, full of pictures you’ve not actually seen for months? Now you can! The Guitarman digital frame can access your Flickr account and those awesome pictures will become part of the pictorial slideshow on your digital frame.

The Guitarman is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, and can also run if it’s plugged into your computer or laptop, in which case the memory is unlimited. With a resolution of 320 x 240, the picture is bright and clear.

Embedded Wi-Fi Chips Approaching a Billion Electronics Devices

Market researcher In-Stat tells us that “Because of its large installed base in mobile PC’s and home networks, flexibility, and mature ecosystem, Wi-Fi is a valued. . . technology for the consumer electronic (CE) market.”  In-Stat analyst Victoria Fodale says that “The sheer volume of digital TV shipments will make it a strong market. . . . “  In-Stat predicts that the compound annual growth rate for CE Wi-Fi devices through 2012 will be 26%.

That means that embedded Wi-Fi chips could end up in almost a billion consumer electronics devices by 2012, according to a recent Cnet news article.   In-Stat states that “. . . more than 294 million consumer electronics devices with Wi-Fi shipped in 2007.  But that number is quickly growing and will likely reach 1 billion by 2012.”

In-Stat also reports that because mobile handsets are the fastest-growing embedded Wi-Fi device right now, dual-mode cell phones will become the largest category of Wi-Fi devices by 2011, surpassing PC’s.  There are several reasons so many electronic devices are opting for Wi-Fi connections; for one, prices are coming down, WAY down.  Another factor is increased battery life.  Apple’s iPhone, among others, comes with Wi-Fi.

Right now, most televisions use ethernet for their internet connections, but in the future, digital TV’s “. . . are expected to use Wi-Fi. . . wireless technology could be used to connect TV’s to various devices like set-top boxes and DVD players in an effort to eliminate cords.  The only cord needed would be the power cord.”

David Katzmaier reviews TV’s for CNET, and he can “. . . see (Bluetooth) being used for things like wireless surround speakers and remote controls . . . even to integrate cell phones into the TV experience. . . .”

I am wondering, personally, if wireless technology can make it easy for people like me, with a wireless digital picture frame, to access internet content such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube, to name just a few.  We’re already watching videos on our wireless frames; if these bigger sites featured RSS, FrameChannel could pick them up and wireless picture frame owners could watch their favorite videos and movies on our wireless frames, bypassing the television set altogether.

Pure Digital’s Flip Video Ultra Uploads Directly To Computer, Television, and Wireless/Digital Picture Frame!

This is a Flip Video Ultra by Pure Digital, and I have one!

It’s the simplest and coolest video camera ever, and one of the MANY reasons I adore it is that I can upload videos directly to my wireless digital picture frame.

That’s right.  Directly.  See that usb flash drive coming out of the side of the camera?  That plugs directly into my wireless picture frame, and transfers video just as a regular USB flash drive would upload pictures.

I can also upload the videos directly to my computer, or even to my television!  If you’re a person who utilizes YouTube, or any of the social media networks such as FaceBook or MySpace, this is the video camera you’ve been waiting for!

This ultra-cool Ultra Flip camera is about the size of a cell phone and is as light as a feather.  I keep mine in my purse.  It’s the perfect gift for people who aren’t very tech-savvy because there is really only one main button to push, and it’s very large and smack in the middle of the back of the camera.  Push it once to start filming; push it again to stop. Your grandmother could learn to use this camera in less than a minute!

It comes it your choice of five cool colors.  Mine is orange.

The video quality is quite good, and the audio is good, too.   The Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra camera was never intended to replace your handheld video camera, but for those small things that come up suddenly, this little camera is IDEAL.  It will hold about an hour’s worth of videos.

I LOVE IT that I can shoot a little film, flick the switch on the side of the camera with my fingernail, and immediately plug the USB flash drive into my wireless/digital picture frame.  This would, of course, work with both wireless AND digital frames.

It’s more electronic magic, and more ways to use your wireless/digital photo frame.  It’s AWESOME.

WalMart has the Flip Video Ultra for $160.00, but you can order it directly from the Flip Video Store for $149.99.  However, the best deal on this camera that I’ve found, so far, is WalMart.com, where you can order the Flip Ultra for only $129.84, with 97-cent delivery!

This camera is cute.  It’s tiny.  It’s light-weight.  It’s reliable.  It’s tough.  It takes clear, bright videos with clear, bright sound.  It fits in a purse or pocket.

And, it’s inexpensive and easy to use.  What more could you ask?

Oh, did I mention that it uses standard AA batteries?  And that those batteries last a long time?