News

Shutterfly Relaunches Their Online Store

Shutterfly has announced that they're relaunching their store at www.shutterfly.com/store with new products and eliminating the need to sign-in before viewing the products.  In doing so, they differentiate themselves from their competitors.  Some of the new products include baby board books, Molly West albums, and Burnes of Boston frames.

Press Release:

BURLINGAME, Calif. (September 28, 2005) Today from the InfoTrends/CAP Ventures' Digital Imaging Conference, Shutterfly announced the relaunch of the company's online Store (www.shutterfly.com/store). Consumers now can browse the company's expanded selection of premium photo products and create photo gifts without registering with the Shutterfly service. Additionally, Shutterfly products are arranged and displayed intuitively, so that shoppers can quickly find and purchase a thoughtful gift or treasured keepsake.

"Shutterfly is consistently improving its service to offer both the highest quality and most intuitive user experience for its customers," said Jill Aldort, Senior Consultant, Internet Imaging Trends for InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. "By adding hundreds of new photo-related products to the Shutterfly Store and eliminating the need to sign in before viewing the product selection and designing the product, Shutterfly invites all shoppers to visualize their personalized product before they buy, which is a great differentiator."

The new Store includes Shutterfly's award-winning design-it-yourself products such as Photo Books, Greeting Cards, Calendars and PhotoShow DVDs along with new photo-related products and gift items that reflect the many ways photos enrich our lives. New albums, frames and pre-made scrapbooks in a variety of colors and styles will fulfill every shopper's desire for the perfect way to display and share their photos. Just in time for the holidays, Shutterfly gives visitors options to shop according to gift-giving occasion, product category or "top sellers" enabling them to easily locate their favorite items along with product details, suggested uses and customer testimonials.

"At Shutterfly we put a premium on quality, whether it's our products or the customer experience, and we've redesigned the Shutterfly Store to reflect this principle," said Jeffrey Housenbold, CEO of Shutterfly. "Through a complete update of our site architecture, a new look and professional merchandising, we have created an online store that combines the convenience of one-stop shopping with the highest quality Shutterfly customers have come to expect."

New Albums, Frames and More

• Each product offered in the new Shutterfly Store had been hand selected for its tremendous attention to detail and suitability for displaying photos and preserving memories. Items include:
• Kolo albums, which help Shutterfly customers transform the way photos are presented, stored and enjoyed. From brag-books to elegant leather albums, Kolo presents modern yet timeless designs. Shutterfly will offer more than 30 Kolo albums ranging from $18.00 to $180.00, as well as Kolo photo storage boxes for $28.00.
• Molly West hand-bound photo albums, which are made by expert book binders and crafted with fine materials such as silk and suede into heirloom-quality pieces. Shutterfly will offer more than 20 Molly West albums in baby, wedding and all-occasion themes from $42.50 to $162.50.
• Award-winning baby board books from Playhouse Publishing, which let parents insert child's photos into each page to create a custom story. Just add pictures and "wow" even the toughest little story-time critic. Shutterfly will offer such titles as My Grandma and Me, Peek-A-Boo Farm, and Picture Me One starting at $10.00.
• Burnes of Boston, which has set the standard for classic picture frames. Shutterfly will offer more than 40 Burnes of Boston designs, from large wall frames to smaller, more novel styles, ranging in price from $5.99 to $49.99.

For more information, please visit www.shutterfly.com/store

Wal-Mart and Fuji Team Up To Provide Cheap Off-Site Digital Image Printing

Wal-Mart and Fuji have joined forces to allow digital camera customers to "drop off" their digital images at kiosks in all Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores that have 1 hour photo labs.  Once their digital images are dropped off, they will be printed and delivered in 2 days, like film prints.

From the press release: 

Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB locations are the first retailers to offer Fujifilm's Digital Dropbox solution. This offering adds to the retailers' extensive digital photo printing line-up, giving customers further choice. Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB are setting the retail price points for a 4x6 print at 15 cents and 13 cents respectively. With no delivery charge, this 2-day option is a very affordable choice for customers or members and complements their existing 1-hour and home delivery options. The Digital Dropbox offers a complete line of print sizes, as well as greeting and holiday cards, Digital Album CDs and photo gift items, such as T-shirts, posters, puzzles, ornaments, mouse pads, mugs, and more.

All Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB's customers choosing the following options (powered by Fujifilm technologies), will enjoy high-quality and long-lasting prints on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper:

     2-day service (Wal-Mart $0.15, SAM'S CLUB $0.13)       *  Images are uploaded via the Digital Dropbox and returned to the store          for pick up       *  Images uploaded online via Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB websites for in-          store pick up         1-hour service (Wal-Mart $0.19, SAM'S CLUB $0.18)       *  Customers load digital images on a kiosk or drop off at the Photo          Counter for 1-hour pick up       *  Images uploaded online via Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB websites for in-          store pick up         Home-delivery (Wal-Mart $0.12 plus shipping costs, SAM'S CLUB $0.11 plus       shipping costs)       *  Images uploaded online via Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB websites for home          delivery

Nikon Acknowledges Electronics Failures in Some Digital SLR Models

Nikon has posted notices on their support site for Nikon D70, F55, and D2H users that acknowleges that "electronic components related to exposure control in some ... cameras may, on rare occasions, fail."  Nikon will replace the faulty components even if the warranty has expired on the camera.

If you have a D70, you know you have a problem when:
- With a memory card inserted: The green memory card access lamp blinks continuously and camera does not respond to any controls. 
- With no memory card inserted: The camera will not turn on despite the battery indicator showing a fully charged battery.

If you have a D2H:
- The electronic analog exposure indicator is unreliable, the exposure display is fixed at a constant value and images are over- or under-exposed.
- The camera is unable to focus automatically.

If you have an N55:
- The camera is unable to focus automatically.

For more information and steps to get Nikon to help you out, see their support page.