Digital Frame Market Expands With Three New Entrants

By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 1/29/2007

LAS VEGAS — Coming off a ground-breaking holiday season for the category, several new and established entrants introduced digital photo frames at International CES, hoping to set sail on a rising tide.

Audiovox announced its entry into the market with three models in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.4-inch sizes for a suggested $119, $159 and $199, respectively. They feature 32MB of internal memory, 800 by 600 pixel resolution LCD screens and accept SD and Memory Stick flash-memory cards.

The frames will also offer interchangeable trims in black, white and wood grain and a digital media scheduling software with an alarm clock and calendar function.

i-mate also marked its entrance into the category with two models offering built-in Wi-Fi to allow users to connect to the company's MomentoLive subscription-based photo sharing Web site. The 10.2-inch Momento 100, for a suggested $299 and the 7-inch Momento 70, for $199, are shipping this month.

The frames offer memory-card readers and internal memory but can also connect wirelessly to the Web to display photos from the company's newly launched MomentoLive site or from Flickr, Google's Picasa and Windows Live Spaces. The frames will come with a 30-day free trial of MomentoLive. Subscription pricing was not announced.

Mustek introduced three frames under its Ality line, making a bid for the high-end with the $499-suggested PF-T150. The model sports a 15-inch screen with 512MB of internal memory.

The 8-inch PF-T80R offers a touch-screen LCD and when turned off can serve as a mirror. The frame offers a 800 by 600 pixel resolution and retails for a suggested $299.

Another 8-inch model, the PF-T80, offers a VGA resolution screen, wood finish and MPEG video playback for a suggested $199.

The frames accept the popular memory card formats (except xD) and offer USB connections and MP3 playback.

Smartparts announced the availability of two new 7-inch models in mid-February. One is housed in a black frame, the other in wood. Both the SPDPF70E and W frames accept SD, Memory Stick and xD-Picture Card media and will retail for a suggested $99.95.

The models will also be bundled with an offer to download for free the company's $49 OptiPix software for conserving space on a memory card and for correcting picture orientation.