|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
(Weymouth, MA) October, 02 2000... Online photo sites are adding a new kind of functionality - Web-based photo editing - according to a new report from InfoTrends Research Group. Photo sites are seeking ways to derive revenue from their members. The new Web-based tools accomplish this by enhancing stickiness and user satisfaction, driving up print revenue, ad revenue, referrals, merchandise sales, and more. "These online tools provide added value to users of online photo communities, with features to color-correct images, remove red-eye, zoom and crop, and add borders and effects, all directly from the site," said Lia Schubert, research analyst at InfoTrends Research Group. "By allowing users to create more printable photos, these tools are expected to drive print royalty revenues for third party tool providers to $100 million by 2005." InfoTrends' estimates that some 10% of home Internet users this year will try a film digitization service that processes film and posts images to a Web site for sharing. Since these images go straight to the Web, online tools are needed to help users get better results from their photos without downloading them to their PCs for editing. Furthermore, many of these users are newcomers to digital photography, and online editing tools provide a non-intimidating introduction to the digital photo world. In business and commercial markets, these tools will be useful elements for e-commerce sites like online stationary stores, and for vertical market sites like real estate intranets. Web-based editing will also serve the Internet appliance market in coming years, as some users begin to access their online albums from devices like PDAs, Internet-connected cell phones, and TV set-top boxes, that have limited memory and processing power. Not everyone needs Web-based editing today. Slow Internet connection speeds can make online editing a tedious process. Meanwhile, most PC users have a photo editor already, or can easily get one through a free download or inexpensive purchase. The new report from InfoTrends Research Group, "Web-based Photo Editing and Enhancement," profiles various third-party solutions that can be integrated into online photo-sharing sites, including those from ArcSoft, Corel, Kodak, MGI Software, PictureIQ, Pixami, QBeo, and Ulead, and quantifies the market opportunity for providers of Web-based editing and enhancement tools. The report is available immediately in both hard copy and electronic format. |
