Accessory Industrial Design Brief: Digital Photo Frame

Short product definition: Easy-to-use digital photo viewer with Bluetooth

RTL Date: W40 2008

Product manager: Erik Mårtensson

Project manager / Development site: Martin Jensen / Lund

1                                      Introduction

This is the first Sony Ericsson digital photo viewer. The purpose of the product is to be an affordable accessory, but still provide enough quality and design impression to match the Cyber-shot™ concept/brand and lead the way for more Sony Ericsson digital photo viewer products.

The target group for the product is Mainstream Materialists, with UK, Germany and Sweden as initial target countries.

More than 50% of all digital photo frames today are sold as gifts and why buyers seem to be “all kinds of people” according to sales channels. This concept is (at least to some extent) assumed to be the case also for this product, meaning that the buyer and user in many cases probably won’t be the same person. A design language appropriate for a wide range of consumers, at least covering the whole span of Mainstream Materialists, is therefore desired.

2                                      General Product Definition

Vision & Mission:

Ø      Product value proposition:
Strengthen the SE Imaging proposition by providing an easy-to-use Sony Ericsson non-phone alternative of viewing and sharing pictures anywhere.

Ø      Target group:
Mainstream Materialists.

Ø      Role in portfolio:
Introducing a new product category within the Imaging portfolio, creating a high level of “want-to-have”.

Ø      Market where it will be sold:
Globally

Ø      Target market / Main market:
UK, Germany, Sweden

Ø      Consumer price:
105€

Ø      Branding:
A heavy Sony Ericsson branding is required. The photo viewer/frame market, where this product will enter, has few strong brands and is scattered by “unknown” brands why a strong Sony Ericsson branding definitely is a competitive advantage.

Ø      Volume and life-time plans:
150 k units, for after market sales

Ø      Launch period:
Q3 2008

3                                      Usage

3.1                                 Use case

This product is focused on sharing pictures, and the user should see it as a complement to a “normal” photo frame at home and an album that you can bring with you and show to family or friends.

The portable focus, enabled by an in-built battery, should be very clear with the product. A main usage scenario is that a user and some family members or friends are sitting in a sofa, watching pictures together. It is therefore very important that the product is easy, intuitive and comfortable to hold and control.

Another important usage scenario is when the product is standing or hanging on a wall in a home environment, at a place where you spend a lot of time e.g. kitchen, hallway, living room or home office. Then, having interesting slideshow modes that can present pictures in an impressive way is important. In order to hang the product on the wall, the standing device/support should not have to be removed from the product.

TV-out RCA connection to enjoy the image on a TV screen.

The ways in which pictures are transferred to the product or viewed directly can be summarized by the following points;

· Transfer pictures from phone to internal memory via Bluetooth

· Transfer pictures from computer to internal memory via USB

· View pictures stored in memory cards, phones, USB sticks or other USB enabled devices

The points below summarize the main usage scenarios;

· View pictures one by one or in different slideshow modes while holding the product

· Changing pictures by sweeping the hand on the lower part of the frame

· Making settings for the product, using the three way capacitive sensing soft keys

· View and share pictures in portrait or landscape mode with the product standing on a flat surface or hanging on a wall

The following points highlights usage features, relevant for the design

·   Dynamic backlight in front of the capacitive sensors on the low part of the frame that change icon according to what menu or mode the user is currently in. The backlight can also be used for feedback e.g when sweeping to change picture the light could follow the trace of your fingertip.

·   A light sensor for automatic LCD adjustment and auto turn off. See section 6.2 for more details.

·   Movement sensor: Another “green feature” that in order to avoid that the product is turned on 24 hours per day or when it is not used, a movement sensor should be able to detect if any one is near the product or not and turn it on or off accordingly. This feature should be able to turn off, but when enabled a good way to save power.

3.2                                 Design Goals

Since this is a product that you can use without being connected to a power cable and therefore bring to your friends’ or family’s house the design should be perceived as slim, clearly communicating a portable feeling, but not rugged as it also must “work” when hanging on a wall. Even though it is a product in the mid-end digital photo viewer segment, it will be a quite expensive Sony Ericsson accessory, why the design should communicate a feeling of a more high-end product matching the Cyber-shot™ brand.

Apart from the portable design focus, there should also be a design objective to make it fit into a “design inspired” home environment. It should be a product that you would want to bring to a dinner to show friends but also to put on a shelf or hang on the wall in your living room or kitchen – both because it could communicate style/fashion but at the same be discrete enough to be a part of existing interior.

The software UI/MMI is an important differentiating area for this product. As a Sony Ericsson user you shall find the UI to be intuitive and in line with what you recognize from your phone. It should be focused on ease of use, and to promote this the product menu might be split into two kinds (e.g., basic and advanced). First, the most commonly used functions should be put in the main menu level, so that only one selection will take the user to the wanted position. Second, the more technically advanced functions should be split into sub-categories. Furthermore, the software UI should have a graphical language (and functions) that helps creating an impressive feeling – it should be fun to access the menu of this product!

4                                      Design requirements

The following points summarizes the hardware features of the product;

1.   LCD screen 5-7” (cost related but 7” is the goal)

2.   Vertical and horizontal desk stand back support (stored in the product preferable fold out or similar, not an extra item that gets lost.)

3.   Hanging device for both vertical and horizontal position (“keyhole”)

4.   Hard key – on/off switch

5.   Soft keys (capacitive sensing) for UI control

6.   Internal memory ~ 512 MB

7.   External power adapter (interchangeable tips to fit globally) with long enough wire to enable wall mount of the photo viewer.

8.   In-built battery < 3 hrs photo display

9.   Tilt sensor for picture rotation

10.    Light sensor for LCD adjustment and auto shut off

11.    Movement sensor (for power saving)

12.    Memory card reader with support for: MS M2, MS Duo, SD, SD micro (CF, xD and MMC if included in “standard” solutions)

13.    Connectors:

o        USB Mini B (slave) for connection to computer.

o        USB Type A (host) for connection to phone, USB memory sticks and other storage devices. The USB connector shall be located to enable a standard USB memory stick to be inserted while the product is hanging on the wall/standing on a shelf.

o        TV-out RCA connector.

14.    Bluetooth 2.0+EDR or latest version at the time of launch.

15.    Remote control functionality from the phone via Bluetooth (like the power point control, change picture forward and backward)

16.    Kensington lock compatible

Regarding size, the product shall be as slim as possible; target thickness is iPhone. The portable focus is important to keep in mind, e.g. by making the edges of the product rounded.

5                                      Variants

5.1                                 RTL-variants

There shall only be one version of this product, targeted for after market sales.

6                                      Phones

6.1                                 Compatible phones

All phones with Bluetooth or M2 memory card.

6.2                                 Target phone

The product will be launched at the time of Shiho, but is to be seen as targeting all  imaging focused phones primarily Cyber-shot™ branded models.