After years in the dumps, digital picture frames became hot sellers last year, according to a free White Paper released yesterday by Parks Associates, of Dallas, Texas. Here are some the factors Parks Analyst Harry Wang pegged to the popularity of the products in 2006.

• Consumers showed strong interest in digital photo frames as a unique gift. As enthusiasm for MP3 players as holiday gifts waned, shoppers began looking for something new and unique.
• A digital photo frame helps free consumers' personal content from PCs, digital cameras, and memory devices. The frame fulfills this need by allowing consumers to easily glance through the captured moments of their lives just like they did previously with photo albums and scrapbooks.
• Easily-understood concept and simple operations. The "plug and display" operation, usually involving only three or four steps, is by no means intimidating for even the least tech-savvy users.
• Key components are manufactured with maturing technologies, so cost can be brought down quickly. LCD panels, silicon chipsets and flash memory are all commodities today. As order volume rises, component manufacturers can leverage the economy of scale to offer them at substantial discounts.
• Momentum interest from retailers of all kinds in 4Q06. Word about successful market trials got out quickly in mid-2006, and predictions that the photo frame could potentially become a hit category during the Christmas shopping season began circulating among merchandise buyers and planning managers from the retail sector in the late summer.

I have to admit that I thought digital picture frames a bit of an extravagance, but after having an opportunity to play with a couple, I became a fan of the gadgets.