Camera Phone Pics

When something makes the cover of Life magazine, it's probably safe to say the subject has reached critical mass. Such is the case with its Jan. 28 issue featuring camera phones, which are quickly becoming ubiquitous and changing the way consumers take and use photos. And a new generation of handsets are a lot more like fully-featured cameras complete with zoom lenses, video modes, flash and even sliding lens covers. These are all trends that are driving growth in digital printing.

According to research group InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, approximately 20% of Internet users owned a camera phone by the end of 2004, up from 3% in 2003. And 27% of consumers that currently do not own a camera phone are very interested in purchasing one.

As David Watkins, director of Nokia's imaging business puts it, "This puts a camera in everyone's pocket. It's always with you."

This is good news for the photo industry. Even better is the InfoTrends research showing that over 40% of current camera-phone owners have printed their camera-phone images. "Camera-phone print volume will continue to increase as manufacturers introduce higher-resolution and better-quality optics," said consultant Jill Aldort.

Snap-happy consumers are even printing low-resolution VGA quality images from their phones, according to Pierre Barbeau, gm of Sprint picture mail. "We've discovered that when there's a need or an emotional value attached to an image, consumers will print it [regardless of resolution]," he said.

To facilitate the printing of images from camera-phone vendors, service providers and retailers are forming partnerships fast and furious. Fujifilm has partnered with Sprint to allow subscribers to send camera phone images directly to their retail partners for in-store pickup, while its program with Cingular allows digital postcards to be sent from a camera phone to the post office for traditional delivery. Web services such as Snapfish and Kodak's EasyShare Gallery provide consumers with the opportunity to upload photos from camera phones to a Web site, then store or print at will.

For those who want the option of printing at home, portable home printers can now connect directly to the newest generation of camera phones via Bluetooth wireless technology, and PictBridge allows for image transfer from phone via USB connection. Epson has partnered with Sprint to allow customers to access images stored on the service providers' Web site and print them from home using Epson sol, ware. New phones with removable memory cards plug directly into home printers or in store kiosks for easy transfer of images.

"This is low-hanging fruit for anyone who's in the photofinishing business today," said Sprint's Barbeau. "It goes beyond what's conventional output from a digital camera. It's a win, win, win, win."

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