Camera phones paint pretty market picture

Worldwide sales of camera phones will jump 14 per cent year on year to reach 295.5m units in 2005, according to a new report released by Gartner.

The analyst predicts that sales of camera phones in western Europe will come close to 85m by year-end, contributing more than 55 per cent of total mobile phone sales in the region.

By 2009 this figure is expected to rise to 143m, representing nearly 90 per cent of the European mobile market, Gartner said. By comparison, camera phone sales in North America are expected to reach over 70m units in 2005, representing 47 per cent of total device sales in 2005.

In both regions, Gartner believes the healthy operator subsidies currently offered on camera phones as key to the future success of the market, but also expects the declining cost of integrating the technology into mobile phones to be a key factor in future market growth. Gartner predicts that the cost of integrating a one-megapixel camera to a phone will more than halve over the next four years.

“The trend for camera phones first took hold in Asian markets such as South Korea and Japan," said Carolina Milanesi, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner.

“It has quickly become a global phenomenon as mobile phone users around the world have been captivated by the idea of integrating two devices - a digital camera and a phone - in one.”