The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) reports that Snapchat, Shutterfly and Yelp have joined the 2,100 member organization.
Snapchat is a photo messaging application that allows users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view sent photographs and videos – known as "snaps" – after which they will be hidden from the recipient's device and deleted from Snapchat's servers.
Shutterfly's award-winning products enable millions of people to store, enjoy and share billions of photos via this online service. The site includes products and services that help users turn their pictures into photo books, cards, imaginative photo gifts, home decor and personal websites.
Yelp is an "online urban guide" and business review site, founded in 2004, uses automated software to recommend the most helpful and reliable reviews for the Yelp community. The site hosts an average of approximately 117 million monthly unique visitors, as of Q3 2013. To date, Yelpers have written more than 47 million local reviews.
"We are excited to welcome these innovative, young companies to our association," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "These companies represent the diverse consumer technology ecosystem and our expanding membership, ranging from traditional CE hardware manufacturers to software companies, technology developers, service providers, content creators and beyond."
CEA said Snapchat, Shutterfly and Yelp join CEA's roster of American disruptive technology members including: car services provider Uber; personalized Internet radio service Pandora; Hopper creator DISH Network; mobile activation startup Phone2Action; 3D printer manufacturers MakerBot and Formlabs; and television service innovator Aereo.
Earlier this year, CEA opened membership to qualifying startup companies. Startups who meet CEA's criteria can access the benefits of regular CEA membership at a reduced rate. To date, 255 startup companies have joined CEA under this new membership category.
