Cameraphone users fail to click with MMS

Only a third of cameraphone owners share picture messages with friends

Despite the popularity of cameraphones, only a tiny percentage of the devices are used regularly to transmit or save images for later use, research has revealed.

A survey by market research firm In-Stat found that less than a third of cameraphone owners share picture messages with friends.

"People who have not yet purchased cameraphones are very enthusiastic about all the uses for their images," said In-Stat analyst David Chamberlain.

"However, once they start using their new phones they are turned off by perceived poor picture quality, slow network speeds, and the difficulty of creating and sending pictures.

"Our survey found that very few pictures actually make their way out of the handset to be shared with others."

In-Stat estimated that only one in 20 cameraphone users prints pictures or stores them on carrier-provided websites. Less than a third share pictures using a messaging service, compared with nearly 60 per cent who hoped to before purchasing their cameraphones.

The survey also found that those who now use camera or camcorder phones are less likely to replace their phones in the near future than other users.

In-Stat predicted that there will be between 300 million and 850 million mobile users who will send at least one image a month across the carrier network by 2010.