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At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, multinational computer networking company Netgear, based in San Jose, California, showcased the company’s Meural digital art frames. According to an announcement, Netgear has added non-fungible token (NFT) tech support, and the Metamask Web3 wallet will be able to sync with the product.
Netgear Adds NFT Support to Meural’s Digital Art Platform
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are very popular and it doesn’t seem like the trend is going away any time soon. For instance, four NFT collections now have billion-dollar market valuations including projects like Axie Infinity, Cryptopunks, Artblocks, and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Additionally, single NFTs have sold for multi-millions from artists like Beeple, Pak, and Xcopy. Netgear, the multinational computer networking company founded in 1996, has noticed the NFT trend and the company’s Meural digital art frame will support the technology.
Following the announcement at CES, the head of product and content for Netgear Meural, Poppy Simpson, told venturebeat.com that NFT owners will be able to connect their Metamask wallet to Meural. Netgear acquired Meural in 2018 and it sells 13.5 x 7.5-inch displays, as well as 16 x 24-inch and 19 x 29-inch digital frames. Simpson further explained to venturebeat.com that the NFT support was meant for devices like Meural.
“It’s doing what Meural has always wanted to do, which is foster communication and community around visual culture,” Simpson remarked in the interview. “This new feature is particularly aimed at those people who buy the frame to display their personal memories.”
Samsung Fuels Competition With NFT TV, Netgear’s Previous Partnership With Async Art Hinted at Meural NFT Support
Netgear’s entry into the NFT industry follows a recent NFT-related announcement from Samsung Electronics. On Monday, Samsung introduced the world’s first television-based NFT platform which will allow NFT owners to showcase their digital art from their smart TV. “With demand for NFTs on the rise, the need for a solution to today’s fragmented viewing and purchasing landscape has never been greater,” the company explained to the press. Since 2020, Samsung has also been manufacturing hybrid digital frames called “The Frame.”
Presently, Netgear’s Meural NFT support is in beta, according to The Verge reporter Alice Newcome-Beill. Netgear further detailed that the beta NFT service and integration with the Metamask wallet is “starting in January.” The recent announcement detailing that Meural will support NFTs is not Netgear’s first foray into the NFT industry. In July, Netgear revealed a partnership with Async Art “to add dynamic, programmable NFTs to the Meural Library.”
“From its inception, the Meural platform has been building solutions for digital art, artists, photographers and collectors,” Simpson said in a statement concerning the Async Art partnership. “NFTs are the latest innovation in a world where the Meural display and content platform is the undisputed leader, and this exciting partnership with Async is another step towards driving forward to a new era of art appreciation.”