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Thursday, January 15, 2004
Ng: Cell phones with cameras
By WILSON NG
WIRED DESKTOP
RAPID SALES. According to IDC and USA Today, cell phones with cameras are the fastest-growing technology. IDC (International Data Corp.) reports that only three years since this was introduced, more than 80 million cell phones with cameras have been sold, including a record 57 million last year.
The previous all-time record sales in consumer technology was held by the DVD player, which sold 30 million units in its first three years of introduction, from 1997 to 2000.
Of course, it helps that the price of cell phones with built-in cameras is almost the same as the price of the cell phone alone, which means the camera comes almost for free. It also helps that you can bring the cell phone and show it around.
Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone manufacturer, hit it big when it recognized that cell phones were not just for calling, but really for fashion. Thus, phones were made with all kinds of colors and gimmicks. It can be assumed that people will change their cell phones every 18 to 24 months to get the latest models.
USAGE. How often do people use the cameras? Judging from my own, and also some friends’, experience, not that much. After a month, the novelty wears off.
I guess people below 25 years old would use it the most. After all, the resolution and the way to transfer it to the computer is not yet that convenient, so that if you really want to take pictures you want to keep, you still would prefer a dedicated digital camera.
There was only one time it was of great use to me. My wife had asked me to buy her some bracelets. In the store, I took a picture of them, sent them to her via multimedia messaging, and asked her if those were the right ones. Sometimes, pictures communicate the way words can’t.
However, convergence is still the key. And while it is still common for people to prefer dedicated machines, not multifunction machines, this can change rapidly when the technology becomes easy to use. Who is to say a phone cannot be a great email, camera, MP3 player, personal organizer, or even a great game player? I’m sure it is just a matter of time before cell phones can also have zoom, and take pictures as clearly as the best digital cameras do now.
I now increasingly watch movies, listen to music and view my pictures through my notebook computer. Increasingly, we see that printers are not just output devices to print, but also input devices to receive fax, and scan documents.
If it is not happening already, most telephone firms will soon earn more from data than from voice transmission. This convergence will continue. For many of us (over 20 million cell phone subscribers in the Philippines), it starts with the cell phone having a camera.
(Wilson welcomes comments at Wilson@ esprint.com.)
(January 15, 2004 issue)
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