Google Inc. Press Release 13/07/04

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—July 13, 2004—Google Inc. today announced it acquired Picasa, Inc., a Pasadena, Calif.-based digital photo management company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Picasa enables users to easily manage and share digital photographs, and its technologies complement Google’s ongoing mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” said Jonathan Rosenberg, vice president, Product Management. “Picasa is an innovator in the field of digital photography, and we’re excited that the Picasa team is joining Google.”

Picasa was founded in October 2001. In May 2004, Picasa announced a technology partnership with Google’s Blogger service to make publishing digital photos with Blogger faster and easier. Further product integration plans have not been announced. Picasa users will not experience any interruption in service.

Xerox Press Release 09/07/04

‘Team Xerox’ Celebrates Olympic Sponsorship With Six-Story Banner In Athens, Greece

Mosaic combines more than 27,000 employee photos to honor the Games

ATHENS, July 09, 2004 —In support of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games and to help bring the global spirit of “Team Xerox” to Greece, Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) has created a massive six-story banner out of the individual portraits of more than 27,000 Xerox employees from more than 60 countries around the world.

Unveiled yesterday, the banner’s overall image depicts the message “Welcome Home” in both English and Greek, celebrating the return of the Olympic Games to its historical birthplace. The banner covers nearly three sides of Xerox’s office building in central Athens and will remain in place throughout the fall.

“The Olympic Games symbolize the teamwork and pride that unite people across the globe,” said Diane McGarry, Xerox chief marketing officer. “The employee mosaic captures the message of unity that is the cornerstone of the Olympic spirit, key to our success at Xerox and core to the experience we deliver to our customers.”

Epson Press Release 30/06/04

100 days in the life of the UK’s most typical family?

July 19th sees the launch of ‘EPSON UK LIFE’, a unique photographic exhibition portraying a 100 days in the life of the UK’s most typical family.? The exhibition is a photo-documentary of the Wants and their day to day lives as a ‘real life’ British family. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to view how the Wants live their life via a collection of ‘fly-on-the-wall’ images taken between the 15th March and 22nd June 2004.? The exhibition is in effect, a celebration of the British social norm. 

Canon UK Press Release 16/06/04

Canon wins four TIPA awards for best photographic and imaging products of 2004

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, has received four Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) awards for the following products:

“Best D-SLR Professional Camera 2004” - EOS-1D Mark II
“Breakthrough Award 2004” - EOS 300D
“Best 35mm SLR Camera 2004” for the - EOS 30V Date / 33V
“Best Technology 2004” - DVK-E2 Data Verification Kit software

ASMP Press Release 14/06/04

(Philadelphia) The American Society of Media Photographers Foundation today unveiled plans for a revitalized grant funding program for photographic education and announced the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors

The new grant program is designed to get maximum leverage from the foundation’s assets by making a number of smaller awards to assist with educational programs for working professionals and students around the country. “We are a small foundation so we aren’t in a position to offer huge grants, ” Board President Dan Lamont explained, “but we believe we can really help put worthy programs over the top in their fundraising.”

The grants will be awarded twice each year. The number of grants and specific amounts given will depend on available funds and the needs and merits of applicant programs. The application deadlines for 2004 are June 31st and October 31st. Application information and forms are available online at www.asmp.org/foundation

InsideOut Travel Magazine Press Release 08/06/04

We are hosting a travelers happy hour on June 23 in San Francisco to celebrate our upcoming fifth issue and we wanted to invite you to join us.

InsideOut Travel Magazine is a bimonthly online publication for independent travelers, from first-time backpackers to those who have made traveling a lifestyle.

As part of the event, we will be hosting a travel photo contest. A slide show will be presented by Alex Robinson, our Photo Editor.

If you’d like to participate in the photo contest, please see the information below:

Send in your travel photos and you may be winning one of our prizes from Webshots and Travelers’ Tales.

Canon Europe Press Release 05/06/04

Barcelona/Nairobi 4 June, 2004 - Professionals and amateurs alike are today being urged to unclip their dust caps and load up their cameras for the world?s biggest environmental photo competition. 

As part of the annual World Environment Day celebrations in Barcelona, Spain, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is launching its fourth International Photographic Competition on the Environment, sponsored once again by Canon Inc.

Nineteen parallel launches in addition to Barcelona are planned in key cities and centres around the globe including Beirut, Buenos Aires, Dakar, Berlin, New York and Tokyo. (See notes to editors)

The competition, called “Focus on Your World” and centred on the theme “Celebrating Diversity,” will run until 24 October, 2004 and is open to all nationalities and ages.

Amazon and Getty Images have signed a deal in which Amazon will sell high-quality printed photography from the Getty Images vast library of photographs.

“High quality printed photographs of Marilyn Monroe, nature scenes, architecture and other images are being offered on Amazon’s Web site, which can be ordered at prices ranging from about $15 to $60 per print, depending its size.

In addition to those from Getty Images archive, the pictures also come from the Hulton Collection of historical photographs as well as from National Geographic collection of photographs offered by Getty Images.”

Thanks to Sanj for the link.

Website: Yahoo - Amazon launches Getty Images online pictures store

HP Press Release 02/06/04

Company declares 2004 “the year digital color goes mainstream”

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 2, 2004
HP today announced a broad initiative to expand digital color imaging and printing to all of its customers in the home and office. Bringing 20 years of innovation and more than $1 billion in overall research and development, HP is helping customers add color to all aspects of their lives.

In order to reach customers in various stages of digital color adoption, HP plans to:

Work with industry leaders such as Adobe, Apple, Microsoft and Quark to deliver the best color experience - one that is both richer and easier - for businesses and consumers.

Deliver robust, affordable color printing products. For example, HP is launching the first color laser printer in North America introduced at a price below $500. At an estimated U.S. street price of $499,(1) the HP Color LaserJet 2550 printer is priced to fit the budgets of microbusinesses and small- to medium-size business (SMB) customers.

Continue to elevate and improve print quality. HP is introducing new papers - including laser specialty media, matte postcards and labels - to complement the complete color printing system, bringing customers professional print quality and reliability whether they are printing everyday general office documents or professional-looking marketing materials.

There have been several press release recently from various manufacturers whose products have just won a TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) award. The full list of 26 awards for 2004 is now on the TIPA website. Notable winners include the Sony Cyber-shot DSC T-1 as the Best Digital Consumer Compact Camera, and the Nikon D70 as the Best Consumer Digital SLR Camera.

Website: TIPA Awards 2004

‘WITH IMAGINATION’, WE’LL ALL BE PLAYING FINGER FOOTBALL THIS SUMMER

Canon launches pan-European ‘Finger Football’ advertising campaign to support UEFA EURO 2004 sponsorship

Campaign links into ‘You Can’ brand platform - empowering customers to create and achieve with the help of Canon products and solutions

If Canon Europe’s advertising campaign does what the digital imaging company hopes it will do, football fans across Europe will be using their imagination and enjoying a quick bout of finger football as part of this summer’s UEFA European Championships.

‘Finger Football is Canon Europe?s new 18 million plus pan-European advertising campaign, designed to link the company?s ‘You Can’ brand platform to its sponsorship of UEFA EURO 2004 through themes of creativity and imagination.

The campaign depicts office workers from across Europe using Canon products to create postcard-sized pictures of their favourite stars. By inserting their fingers through the cards and using them as ‘legs’, they are able to create miniature ‘finger footballers’ and use their imagination to take part in a desktop version of UEFA EURO 2004.

Ofoto, Inc. Press Release 19/05/04

Online Photography Service Now Enabled With Premium, High Quality Digital Photo Processing
Emeryville, CA., May 19—Ofoto, Inc. (www.ofoto.com), a leading online photo service and wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Company, today announced the addition of KODAK PERFECT TOUCH processing to its online photo processing services. KODAK PERFECT TOUCH processing service literally transforms pictures as they are being processed to individually improve each photo before it is printed. KODAK PERFECT TOUCH processing is now being applied to all Ofoto print orders at no extra charge.

America Online, Inc. Press Release 11/05/04

America Online’s Digital Pictures Survey Finds That Instant Gratification Factor Tops List of What Consumers Love Most about Digital Photography

DULLES, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 11, 2004—America Online, Inc.

The Ability to See Images Instantly, Print Images Whenever They Want and Share Images Easily With Friends and Family Are Favorite Benefits; Number One Method For Sharing Digital Photos Today is Online

Digital Cameras Beat Out Sunscreen, a Good Book and Video Cameras as the Top Item Survey Respondents Must Have When Leaving for Vacation

It’s not the hottest page-turner or coolest PDA that most vacationers will be packing for their summer vacation this year. According to America Online’s Digital Pictures Survey of digital camera owners, more than one-half of the respondents, 54%, won’t leave for vacation without this hot little item: their digital camera. The choice ranked significantly higher than sunscreen, a good book, a video camera, an address book, a digital music player and PDA device.

dotPhoto, Inc. Press Release 29/04/04

DOTPHOTO CELEBRATES MOTHERS DAY THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MAY—20% OFF ON PICTURE FRAMES WITH FREE PRINTS

Framed Family Photos are Perfect Gifts for Mom

Easy-to-Use DotPhotos Membership is Free - No Contracts Needed to Order Prints Online

West Trenton, NJ - April 29, 2004 - dotPhoto, Inc. www.dotPhoto.com, a global leader in state-of-the-art online digital image handling, announced today their Mothers Day special of 20% off on picture frames with free prints available from now until May 31, 2004.  dotPhoto is celebrating Mothers day throughout the month of May to introduce its new line of fabulous framed prints.  Members can choose from an assortment of classic and modern wood and metal frames to create once in-a-lifetime beautifully framed photo gifts that mothers will cherish for years to come.  And unlike other photo sites, dotPhotos membership is free, so everyone can easily go online and print digital photos without signing up for a long-term commitment or binding contracts.

In a fairly interesting article, the website SFGate has compared the financial fortunes of the memory-maker Sandisk with the ailing giant Kodak (found via Digital Photography Blog):

“The momentum is on the Silicon Valley firm’s side. Sales of digital cameras, which use memory cards to store images, surpassed those of 35mm cameras for the first time in the United States last year. The market grew so fast that it not only outpaced one industry research firm’s 2003 forecast, but also its estimate for this year.

That’s all good news for SanDisk, the largest supplier of memory cards, which some have dubbed the “digital Kodak.”

Website: SFGate.com - “SanDisk, the leading maker of memory cards, tries to be the Kodak of the digital age”

The winning image in the World Press Photo of the Year 2003 award has been announced.  color image of a masked Iraqi war prisoner holding his 4-year-old son at a U.S. detention camp by Associated Press Photographer Jean-Marc Bouju won the award. More than 63,000 photos were entered with 81% taken using a digital camera. Visit the MSNBC website to see the winning image.

Website: MSNBC

Website: World Press Photo

dotPhoto Press Release 11/02/04

dotPhoto Lets Pro & Amateur Photographers Sell Photos Online with No Start-up Costs

Las Vegas, NV - February 12, 2004 - dotPhoto, Inc. (www.dotphoto.com), a leading photo-sharing and digital photography web site, announced today at Photo Marketing Association (PMA), a simple solution for pro and amateur photographers to sell photos online. With no start-up costs, dotPhoto makes it easy for digital photographers to enter the world of e-commerce and sell digital photos, prints, and gifts to clients they could not have reached before. Through dotPhoto’s advanced e-storage and e-commerce solutions, portfolios of thousands of never-before-seen talented photographers are now accessible to online customers all over the world.

Photographers simply open a free account, upload their photos and set the custom sales price of their digital photos for a wide variety of downloads, print sizes and photo gift items. dotPhoto pays the photographer the difference between the custom price and dotPhoto’s standard price in a monthly check (less a small handling fee). All photos are completely secure, password-protected and encrypted.

Canon 2003 Group Pretax Profit Y448.2 Billion Vs Y330.0 Billion -5
[Dow Jones and Company, Inc.]
Dow Jones News Service via NewsEdge Corporation : The Japanese precision equipment maker said it expects another record net profit this year.

For 2004, Canon projects a group net profit of Y286 billion, up 3.7%. It expects group operating profit to rise 2.3% to Y465 billion this year, on a 4.1% increase in group revenue to Y3.330 trillion.

For this year, Canon estimates its digital camera sales will come to 15 million units, up sharply from 8.6 million units in 2003.

Canon said it expects the dollar to average Y105 and the euro Y130 for 2004.

Canon’s senior managing director, Toshizo Tanaka, said the company needs the dollar to trade between Y100 and Y105 to achieve profit growth this year.

“It would be difficult for us to lift profits if the yen becomes stronger than that,” Tanaka said.

Last year, Canon benefitted from its focus on a limited number of high-margin products, such as digital multifunction copiers and high-performance digital cameras, as well as from cost cuts at its manufacturing operations.

Among these products, the “EOS Kiss Digital,” a single-lens reflex digital camera designed for general users, sold well in Japan though the model is relatively expensive compared with compact-type digital cameras.

In the October-December quarter, Canon’s group net profit rose 25% to Y74.96 billion from Y60.07 billion a year ago, with group revenue growing 3.9% to Y894.89 billion from Y861.66 billion.

Nikon Press Release 29/01/04

[Dow Jones and Company, Inc.] Dow Jones News Service via NewsEdge Corporation : “The digital SLR market is where we have a competitive advantage over our rivals,” said Yoshida. “The market will help us expand our digital camera sales, and it will become a big pillar of our overall imaging business.”

With the worldwide release of the D70 March 19, Nikon hopes to match the success of its archrival Canon Inc. (7751.TO), whose “EOS Kiss digital” SLR proved extremely popular.

For the fiscal year through March, Nikon’s global market share in digital SLR cameras is expected to have fallen to around 30%, behind Canon.

Nikon expects the global SLR market to grow to 5 million units a year in the next three years from about 1 million now.

For the year through March, Nikon’s in-house imaging company is expecting to book Y315.0 billion in sales, up from Y271.9 billion last fiscal year.

In the digital camera market, including SLR models and compact models, Nikon reckons its global shipments will reach 5.5 million units for the year through March, up about 64%. That would mean it maintained a 12% global market share during the year in shipment terms, while its share in value terms remained flat at 15%.

For the business year starting in April, Makoto Kimura, Nikon’s imaging company president, said the company would target worldwide digital camera shipments of 8.6 million units, giving it a 14% global share in unit terms. In value terms, that would translate to about a 19% global market share, Kimura added.

TOKYO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Japan’s Canon Inc said on Thursday that its net profit rose 45 percent in 2003 thanks to healthy demand for office copiers and booming sales of digital cameras and it forecast a fifth straight record profit this year.

Canon posted a consolidated net profit of 275.7 billion yen ($2.60 billion) for calendar year 2003, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of 264.5 billion yen, on revenue of 3.2 trillion yen, up 8.8 percent from the previous year.

Profits at Canon are being powered by healthy demand for multi-function network copiers and hot-selling digital cameras, where it commands about 20 percent of the global market, running neck and neck with Sony Corp for top spot.

Japan’s largest office equipment maker said it expected the good times to keep on rolling, projecting that group net profit would rise another 3.7 percent in 2004 to 286 billion yen. Revenue is seen up 4.1 percent at 3.3 trillion yen.