2) Will the industry form some sort of standard (rss, xml, webshots, etc.) for aggregating photos from the Internet? Think: an iTunes-like store for scenic content that matches a daily weather forecast…or what about high resolution Monets or Rembrants?
3) With the cost of LCD’s decreasing, can I expect to see a portrait-sized frame-type display for the living room in the next few years? I’ve seen some people cover their plasma/LCD TV’s with paintings- what about combining the two?
4) Can we put yesterday’s displays back to work? What about some “little black box” that’ll turn existing hardware into dedicated photo/information viewers? The market’s inundated with wireless hub products that’ll display photos on your TV (along with videos and music), but what about something simpler- like an “install your old 15in monitor here” kit. Who knows, in 5 years every LCD display I’m using today may be obsolete. This may be an easy (and inexpensive) way to put garage filth to use.
5) How much will it cost? Right now, the only way to get a digital frame into my mother’s house is to buy it for her. When weighing the options (wood, glass and Kodak paper [$20.00] .vs. digital [$200.00]), her decision is fairly easy. Granted, people make this leap. The queen of England has an iPod, and so does the seven-year-old down the street. Both of them could function with a CD player, but they don’t (even given the $200.00 premium).
6) How much will resolution or image quality increase on small displays? Is today’s photorealism tomorrow’s black and white?
7) Who will be the targeted demographic? Baby-boomers (60+ by 2010) or their kids? Will the focus be on ease of use or number of features?
If this is truly as important a market as they say it will be, could it be the beginning of the end of paper photos? Instead of a wallet full of pictures, will every father have a PDA? Instead of developing or printing pictures, will people just go straight to frame? It may sound silly, but it could save some trees.
9) Who will dominate the market? Somebody’s going to take this by the horns and run with it. Samsung? Sony? Apple? Who has the marketing wherewithal to sell this to your grandmother?
10) Will intellectual property lawsuits make a comeback with still images? I know it’s a long shot, but will Time Magazine sue me for downloading their Princess Diana photos without a license?
Below is the press release from Parks Associates, a research firm that covers the digital picture frame industry. They project a huge market for digital picture frames over the next few years which provoked my questions above.
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Jenny Barrett, Chelsey Tyson
Parks Associates
