Three Bow New Digital Frames

By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 9/4/2006

New York — Three vendors announced new digital photo frames last month hoping to capitalize on what research firm Parks Associates predicts will be a 12 million unit worldwide market by 2010.

Smartparts announced an 8.4-inch frame housed in a walnut wood finish. In addition to JPEG image slideshows, the frame can play back MP3 files through built-in speakers or connect to external stereo speakers. It accepts SD/MMC, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, CF and xD memory cards.

The frame displays images at resolutions up to 600 by 800. It is shipping now for a suggested $199.99.

Chinese CE manufacturer Sungale announced a new line of digital photo frames under its Alpha Digital brand. The company's line will feature regular and “enhanced” frames in 5.6-inch, 7-inch and 8-inch screen sizes.

The regular category will include the DPF560 (5.6-inch), DPF700 (7-inch), and DPF800 (8-inch) for a suggested $139, $139, and $159, respectively. The frames feature slideshow playback, MP3 music playback, background music, auto-screen shut off, and a six-in-one photo view mode. The frames support playback of MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 videos.

The models accept SD, Memory Stick and MMC memory cards and will ship with a reader for SmartMedia, CompactFlash and xD Picture Card memory. It will also include a remote control.

The enhanced line will include the DPF560M, 700M and 800M for $149, $149, and $189, respectively. The products add a calendar, alarm clock and high-speed photo scrolling (under three seconds for a 5-megapixel image). Enhanced frames can also be connected to a PC or camcorder for DV playback and offer 64MB of built-in memory. They feature slots for all popular memory card formats.

Finally, Westinghouse Digital added a new frame to its lineup with MosaicView technology capable of displaying several images at once.

The 0701 features a screen resolution of 480 by 234 and16MB of internal memory. The 16:9 widescreen frame is housed in an ebony wood frame and supports a variety of transition effects, slideshow speeds and AVI Motion JPEG, MPEG-1/-4 video playback. It accepts all the popular flash memory formats, and is a suggested $199.