Who is the biggest seller of digital cameras? Believe it or not, it’s Nokia which sold over 100 million mobile phones equipped with a digital camera worldwide in 2005. In the first quarter, 6.6 million camera phones were sold compared to 4.3 million digital cameras in Europe. Factors influencing this trend include the rapid improvements in camera phone capabilities (the Samsung SCH-B600 comes with a 10MP camera), comparably lower mobile phone costs with subsidies that come with service plans and new uses for camera phones (for example, the almost instantaneous sharing of pictures).
According to a GfK analyst, this trend will force camera makers to seek alliances with mobile device makers or focus on higher-end digital cameras, leaving the lower-end of the market to mobile phones.
Source: PDAFrance