Jury out on digital frame longevity

Market pundit Ross Rubin, of the NPD Group, made some interesting observations today in an opinion piece over at the ABC News Web site. While digital camera sales growth during the holiday season was lower than the previous year, he notes, digital picture frames were flying off retailers' shelves. Nevertheless, the typically astute Rubin had a word of caution for frame makers.

"According to NPD's Weekly Tracking Service, digital picture frame sales increased nearly five times this past holiday season over the 2006 holiday season," he writes. "The products have been popular items in department stores as well as home specialty stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond and Linens N Things, where they appear in the photo frame section."

"But," he adds, "the jury is still out on whether consumers will use them for displaying a permanent photo collection the way picture frames have been used historically."