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Actually, there are quite a few options for framing out a flat panel TV. Sony has colored "bezels" that add a little something along the edges for their models and there are loads of companies making decorative frames to go around the TV. There are even ways to turn the screen into a mirror.

I just wrote a story about the options for Traditional Home magazine, the October issue. I'll send a link when/if one becomes available....

techgirllaura: I think although bezels and decorative frames around the TV are decent options, I think many folks purchasing their first flat panel don't want to worry about that extra step. Optional flat panel frame colour options right off the bat is what I keep hearing from non-tech oriented friends as one of the things they'd like to see more and more of; it's partially the reason I was able to convince my very own girlfriend to upgrade to a 40". The more choices, the mo' betta!

I think you can make that choice with the Sony bezels at the point of purchase. As for the other frame options, while it would be great from a style perspective, the companies aren't going to be able to do it from a manufacturing and inventory standpoint.
Some colors will sell more than others and then companies are stuck with the excess (It happend to Apple with the original iMac). It would be nice but so impractical.
For the foreseeable future, there will be an extra step to personalize how you frame out the TV.

Actually, Samsung released LCDs in both white and black frames for their Bordeaux line of HDTVs. But since the majority of purchases of larger electronics are still made by men, men tend to gravitate toward the traditional masculine blacks, brushed metals and grays, and I bet sales of the white sets were lower (although when I was shopping for them, they were often sold out at retailers). I've also noted in Europe, there are some brands that come with a selection of frame colours, but European market has a long history of colourful products compared to the more conservative American demographic. As women begin making more home theater choices themselves, I think just as in computers and DAPs, we'll see more colour options. Add-on accessories, especially when it comes to electronics, are almost always a stop gap solution, so it's hard for me to recommend them wholeheartedly.

Ah, now you've hit on my favorite subject. Women actually make the majority of purchases of consumer electronics. Counterintuitive I know, but there's data to back it up. Refer to the Consumer Electronics Association -- ce.org -- for the results. I was involved in some of this research and it's eye opening. Of course women influence even more, close to 90% of all purchases made.
Sony discovered early on that women were the primary buyers of plasma TVs, as early adopters. It was a product that finally hit that sweet spot of form and function.
As for the topic, color frames for TVs, it has a lot more to do with inventory issues and requirements for U.S. retailers. If product can be ordered and drop shipped it would solve some of that but the U.S. is essentially one big mass market....
I personally like the black and think it can be stylish. I also prefer being able to change what I surround it with. Much like gettig a neutral colored sofa and accessorizing with pillows. Easy to change out as my taste and decor changes.
The frame has no impact on the electronics, its just decorative. Won't effect the performance.

I maybe incorrect, but I believe although women statistically purchase the majority of of consumer electronics, it's very important to note which products are purchased by whom. I bet large format HD monitors are mostly purchased by men, alongside programmable remotes, home theater audio components, subwoofers, and other larger sized items. Consumer electronics is a catch all phrase, especially when factoring the popularity of cellphones and DAPs amongst women.

If anything, I love that women are interested and influencing the consumer electronics market. They're more apt to demand more aesthetic and space-saving options, more colours, and promote a wider range of industrial design that fit into a home's decor. I'll just have to kindly disagree that the frame has "no impact", just in the same way Jonathan Ives noted that the case of a computer matters because the user is more likely to enjoy the ownership and use of a product if it appeals to their tactile and visual senses. Some of us don't want a neutral colour sofa to accessorize with pillows...some of us want things without having to add/subtract any elements. If anything, the success of Apple and Motorola's Razr has proven that the "decorative" will continue to play an important part as much as performance and it does indeed matter.

That all said, maybe this product might help bridge the gap.

Gregory, you misunderstood. The frame has "no impact" on the workings of the electronics, as in adding one purchased afterward will not impact the quality of the unit. Of course asthetics play a role in purchase behavior.

And while you "may be willing to bet" that larger format HD monitors and home theater systems are mostly purchased by men, the industry isn't. We've seen data to the contrary and gotten the responses from consumers. And believe me, the data gets broken down by product category. Just yesterday someone from Sony told me this about home theater: "The buyers today are women."

I actually do understand and acknowledge the frame has no direct effect of the set's electronic working impact (well, except in the case of the new Philips Aurea). But now we're skirting around semantics here, because what I've been stating is that there are many of us who don't like purchasing add-on bevels or want to have to purchase an additional frame to blend into decor. I do feel like there is an impact of quality, whether it be in actual product finish or just consumer perception, when you have to add on something. There is a market for people who want different coloured frames as an integrated option; I'll admit it might be niche, but it's definitely there.

I'll most happily fess up to being wrong about women purchasing greater numbers of large format HD monitors, programmable remotes, home theater audio components, subwoofers, and other specific category of devices with some links/statistics showing this purchasing pattern. I would also be curious about how these purchases break down by age and marital status, since traditionally, finances are often decided by the woman of the household. And as I mentioned above, I recognize that women purchase more electronics than men now. I just doubt that women purchase more in every category of consumer electronics, and that men still retain a greater rate or purchase and influence of specific sized and category of product. Is this incorrect?