Camera phone pioneer ponders the impact

The chilling sounds of gunfire on the Virginia Tech campus; the hateful taunts from Saddam Hussein's execution; the racist tirade of comedian Michael Richards. Those videos, all shot with cell phone cameras and seen by millions, are just a few recent examples of the power now at the fingertips of the masses. Even the man widely credited with inventing the camera phone in 1997, Philippe Kahn, is awed by the cultural revolution he helped launch. The Associated Press reports.

"It's had a massive impact because it's just so convenient," said Philippe Kahn.

... As Kahn heard the smattering of stories in recent years about assailants scared off by a camera phone or criminals who were nabbed later because their faces or their license plates were captured on the gadget, he said, I started feeling it was better than carrying a gun."

And though he found the camera-phone video of the former Iraqi dictator's execution disturbing, Kahn said the gadget helped "get the truth out."

Kahn also thinks the evolution of the camera phone has only just begun.

He wouldn't discuss details of his newest startup, Fullpower Technologies Inc., which is in stealth mode working on the "convergence of life sciences and wireless," according to its Web site.

But, Kahn said, it will, among other things, "help make camera phones better."

Previously:

-- Who invented the camera phone? It depends

-- Baby's arrival inspires birth of cellphone camera — and societal evolution

emily | 9:55 AM | How people and businesses are using cameraphones |
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