Camera Phones: Often Wanted, Seldom Used
By Allan Pulga
I’ve always been against camera phones. I’m cheap. If I want a cell phone, I’ll buy an affordable cell phone. If I want to take digital pictures, I’ll buy a digital camera instead of relying on a pricey camera phone with poor picture quality. That was my line years ago – when camera phones were the “next big thing” – and I’ve stuck to it.
Apparently, my reasoning holds water among the masses.
A recent survey, conducted by U.S. research firm In-Stat, shows that many cell phone users – although they love their camera phones – don’t often use them.While respondents cited a camera as one of the most desirable features in wireless handsets, only a tiny percentage of users regularly transmit pictures or store them for later use, reports In-Stat. Less than one-third of the camera phone owners surveyed share picture messages with friends.
A mere one in 20 camera phone users said they print pictures or store them on carrier-provided websites. Of these users, 28 per cent actually share pictures messages with friends – less than half of the near 60 per cent who hoped to do so when purchasing their camera phones.“People who haven’t yet purchased camera phones are very enthusiastic about all the uses for their images,” notes David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. “However, once they start using their new phones, they are turned off by perceived poor picture quality, slow network speeds, and the difficulty of creating and sending pictures.
“Our survey found that very few pictures actually make their way out of the handset to be shared with others,” adds Chamberlain.
In-Stat also reported that the vast majority of users also use a high-resolution digital camera in addition to their camera phones. Only 3 per cent of respondents use their phone as their only digital camera.
Most respondents indicated that they take fewer than 10 pictures with their camera phone each month. And fewer than 2 per cent said they will consider a camera phone with less than 1 megapixel, while more than 50 per cent say they would only consider a handset with more than 2 megapixels of resolution.
I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Yes! I love being right.
Inevitably, people want to buy the “best” cell phone for their money. More often than not, the “best” cell phone is the fanciest cell phone, with all the newfangled gadgetry one can afford – including a digital camera.Cell phone customers are going to seek camera phones. They will love the idea of having a fancy newfangled gadget in hand. But will they end up using the camera on their cell phone? Not as often as you (or more importantly, they) might think.
The verdict on today’s conspicuous camera phone: People want it, so sell it to them.