31 Jul 2007, ST
Global leader offers 19-cent 4R prints, unlimited uploads and storage as bait
By Oo Gin Lee
SNAPFISH, the world's No. 1 online photo service by number of customers, is now in Singapore waters.
Its home is www.snap fish.com.sg, where customers can upload, store and display an unlimited number of digital pictures and order prints.
Snapfish's lure? The 4R prints come at 19 cents each.
Photo prints in 4R size cost between 20 and 50 cents each at retail and online photo print shops - and print quality can vary.
Mr Bala Parthasarathy, Snapfish's founder and now vice-president of online imaging at Hewlett-Packard (HP) Asia-Pacific, said: 'We are focused on delivering what consumers want and at 19 cents, we are lower than any retail or online provider in Singapore. The prints are of high quality.'
Spawned in the United States in 2000, Snapfish was acquired by HP in 2005.
It has more than 40 million customers in 15 countries. They can upload their photographs at any time by connecting their cameras to a computer or using Bluetooth from their camera phones.
The website imposes only one condition on its customers who want to keep their prints online - that they order at least one photo every year.
Prints are mailed direct to them.
Online photo services have been in Singapore since 2000 but snapfish.com.sg is the first service that offers unlimited uploads and storage.
To reel in users, it offers 20 free 4R prints for first-time customers, but will bill them for the $1.90 mailing cost.
FotoHub, a similar online photo service, also lets its users upload their digital photos 24/7, but only up to 200MB worth of data. It is revamping its website and will up the limit to 1GB later this year.
Customers who order prints get a choice of having the photos mailed to them or to a retail service provider, where they can be picked up.
FotoHub, at www.foto hub.com, charges 45 cents for each 4R print, but gives discounts of 30 per cent for orders placed between midnight and 6am.
The chief executive of its consumer division, Mr Eric Tan, welcomed Snapfish's entry into the market.
'This is a good thing. Snapfish's entry will help raise greater awareness about online photo printing for the industry as a whole.'
Snapfish's launch here is part of its push into the Asia-Pacific region. It was launched in Australia last December, and India is next.
Regular online photo user and freelance writer Yong Ai Lei, 37, said: 'Snapfish's unlimited storage is very attractive as it will let me easily share my photos with friends overseas. But the most important thing for me is that the print quality must be good.'
Global leader offers 19-cent 4R prints, unlimited uploads and storage as bait
By Oo Gin Lee
SNAPFISH, the world's No. 1 online photo service by number of customers, is now in Singapore waters.
Its home is www.snap fish.com.sg, where customers can upload, store and display an unlimited number of digital pictures and order prints.
Snapfish's lure? The 4R prints come at 19 cents each.
Photo prints in 4R size cost between 20 and 50 cents each at retail and online photo print shops - and print quality can vary.
Mr Bala Parthasarathy, Snapfish's founder and now vice-president of online imaging at Hewlett-Packard (HP) Asia-Pacific, said: 'We are focused on delivering what consumers want and at 19 cents, we are lower than any retail or online provider in Singapore. The prints are of high quality.'
Spawned in the United States in 2000, Snapfish was acquired by HP in 2005.
It has more than 40 million customers in 15 countries. They can upload their photographs at any time by connecting their cameras to a computer or using Bluetooth from their camera phones.
The website imposes only one condition on its customers who want to keep their prints online - that they order at least one photo every year.
Prints are mailed direct to them.
Online photo services have been in Singapore since 2000 but snapfish.com.sg is the first service that offers unlimited uploads and storage.
To reel in users, it offers 20 free 4R prints for first-time customers, but will bill them for the $1.90 mailing cost.
FotoHub, a similar online photo service, also lets its users upload their digital photos 24/7, but only up to 200MB worth of data. It is revamping its website and will up the limit to 1GB later this year.
Customers who order prints get a choice of having the photos mailed to them or to a retail service provider, where they can be picked up.
FotoHub, at www.foto hub.com, charges 45 cents for each 4R print, but gives discounts of 30 per cent for orders placed between midnight and 6am.
The chief executive of its consumer division, Mr Eric Tan, welcomed Snapfish's entry into the market.
'This is a good thing. Snapfish's entry will help raise greater awareness about online photo printing for the industry as a whole.'
Snapfish's launch here is part of its push into the Asia-Pacific region. It was launched in Australia last December, and India is next.
Regular online photo user and freelance writer Yong Ai Lei, 37, said: 'Snapfish's unlimited storage is very attractive as it will let me easily share my photos with friends overseas. But the most important thing for me is that the print quality must be good.'
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