Smile for the Camera Phone
August 25, 2008
The mobile generation is riding a new wave of convenience. Camera phones are quickly replacing basic cell phones as the gadgets of choice for today’s on-the-move market.
It seems that most people have cell phones these days. There are WAP-enabled, Bluetooth and infrared-based models, but regardless of the style, we’ve all got ‘em. Not convinced? Try a little experiment and see for yourself:
Stand in a shopping mall, on a city street corner or in any other crowded public place, and arrange for a friend to call you. As your cell phone rings, take a look around to see how many other people are reaching to check their own phones.
Cell phone use has caught on like wildfire, and it’s not at all surprising. These phones are compact, affordable and ultra-convenient. Users can stay in touch from virtually any location, and make or receive calls to or from any almost anywhere in the world. What may be surprising is the fact that so many people are trading up to new camera phones.
Today’s cell phones are like the Swiss army knives of the communication world. With just a touch of a button they can be used to instantly send and receive e-mail and text messages, play games, surf the Internet and keep track of appointments. Best of all, each of these tasks can be accomplished while the user is out and about: at work, on the bus, in a restaurant or at a club. Now, the most exciting advancement in the average cell phone is the addition of photographing capabilities. The ability to take digital photographs from their handset is enough to send users out to the stores to replace their perfect good handsets with new camera phones.
The Japanese market was first to experience the thrill of the camera phone, and Asian cellular users immediately caught the camera phone bug. A few years later, manufacturers began marketing camera phones in the United States and these hot gadgets became available to the masses. While not overly popular at first, North Americans quickly began to appreciate the convenience of having a camera and cell phone together in one handset. Of course, the devices have become so well-received that some have predicted that camera phones will become the most popular consumer device in history.
According to industry analysts, camera phones comprised 12% of the total cell phones sold in 2003, and predicted those numbers to rapidly climb. A research firm called IDC suggested that more than 80 million camera cell phones have been sold worldwide.
So, why not simply carry a phone and a camera? You’ll appreciate the difference at that moment when you spot the perfect sunset at the beach, and your camera is locked in the trunk of your car three miles up the shore. And, you’ll be thankful for this new technology when you bump into your favorite movie star at a busy restaurant and get an impromptu photo shoot with your pocket camera phone. Better yet, you’ll be able to instantly email the photo to your friends.
Having a digital camera built into a cell phone may seem like a novelty or a luxury, but there’s no better way to capture life’s most perfect moments, and hold them for a lifetime.