August 12, 2003
Camera phone sales expected to exceed sales of digital and film cameras by 2004
This is really big news, according to a report issued by Future Image, by mid-2004, sales of camera-phones, first introduced in the US in November 2002, could exceed the combined total sales of regular digital cameras and those using film.
"The forecast for 2003 for `pure-play' digital cameras is about 32 million or 35 million units sold worldwide," said industry analyst Tony Henning, editor of Future Image's Wireless Imaging information service. "For film cameras, excluding single-use disposables, there could be up to 60 million units sold. That adds up to about 95 million units.
"Sales of cell phones with cameras embedded could reach 50 million units and phones that have cameras as a separate attachment could see another 40 million units," he added. "So this year is probably a toss-up as to who sells more, but next year is no contest."
Henning, author of "The Camera-Phone Phenomenon" report, is among the speakers at the upcoming Seybold San Francisco 2003 set for Sept. 8-12, at the newly completed Moscone West.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/picturephoning/archives/2003/08/001364.htm