UK Digital Cameras Blog

A study from research firm In-Stat reveals that over 75 per cent of all image sensors shipped last year were for camera phones - with CMOS sensors dominating CCDs in terms of shipment volumes.

Indeed, CMOS sensors had close to an 80 per cent share of image sensor shipments - while CCF sensors remained strong in digital still cameras, security cameras and camcorders.

“CMOS also made inroads into digital still cameras and camcorders in 2006, two markets that traditionally have been dominated by CCDs,” Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst, claimed.

“CCDs continued to dominate the point-and-shoot sweet spot of the camera market. However, the rapidly growing digital single lens reflex (DSLR) market has been transitioning to CMOS sensors, led by Canon, which exclusively uses its own CMOS sensors.”

Global spend on consumer electronics will increase by nine per cent over the course of 2007, a new report states.

A study from research firm GfK claims that the total amount forked out on such products will total around £288.6 billion - with spend in Europe to increase by around seven per cent.

GfK said that there was a strong upward trend in three categories - with PCs registering a 20 per cent increase in sales, mobile phones growth of 16 per cent and TVs a 12 per cent rise.

“The impact of some of the smaller product segments contributes further to the bigger picture,” it added.

“This applies, for example, to the demand for portable navigation devices, which is anticipated to rise by 84 per cent and that for MP3 players, where a 15 per cent increase in sales is expected.”

Sales of photographic imaging products should increase by nine per cent over the course of 2007, while camcorder volumes should total 4.2 million during the 12 months.

DVD camcorders will account for around 27 per cent of all camcorders sold, the report said - while camcorders with hard disks or memory cards will take a 20 per cent market share.

The BBC has announced the results of a photography exhibition which centred on snaps captured by mobile phones and focusing on the region of South Asia.

First prize went to Ravinder Kumar Gupta of Gurgaon, India, who captured a shot of a workman dealing with a jumbled mass of overhead cables in her hometown.

For his efforts he received a Sony Digital Handycam and speaking of his award, he told the BBC: “I’m very excited to learn that my picture won the first prize, it’s really just unbelievable.

“It is very surprising for me…one day I read about the bbcnews.com contest, sent some pictures taken from my Nokia mobile and I never thought at that time that I would win,” he added.

A digital camera was won by Vipul Khattar from Kanpur in India for another photo of a workman while Umair Mirza of Karachi, Pakistan, scooped the third prize for a photo of the floods that affected the city recently.

The BBC reports that other photos captured by digital cameras were entered to the competition though these were not eligible to win.

US technology firm Apple announced the US launch details for its hotly anticipated iPhone this week.The new iPod-on-a-phone, which was first unveiled at the Macworld Conference in January, will come with either 4Gb of storage capacity or 8Gb, retailing from June 29th for $499 (£250) and $599 (£300) respectively.

The iPhone features all the music, video and storage capabilities of existing iPods with the addition of a crystal clear 3.5-inch screen, a Wi-Fi internet hub, a built in two megapixel camera and all the functionality of a regular mobile phone.

Combining an iPod and a smartphone into one sleek and sexy device, the iPhone has already stirred intense interest among consumers.

In a recent US poll, six per cent of mobile phone users claimed that they would be extremely likely to buy an iPhone in the first year, despite the hefty price tag.

As of yet, no details of the European launch have been released, but industry experts expect Apple will aim to ship the iPhone to the UK in time for the Christmas rush.

Customers of the mobile phone network provider 3 have started to up the amount of international calls they are making after seeing the firm cut its roaming charges.

And now that 3 has offered an olive branch to its customers so that they can get the most of phoning friends and relatives abroad for cheaper, the company has urged others to do the same.

The average call length has been found to have risen by 40 per cent now the new tariff, 3 Like home, has been put in place and is now two minutes 30 in duration compared with the previous length of call which was one minute 47.

Commenting, John Penberthy-Smith, marketing director at 3, said: “We believe that using your phone when you are abroad should be like using it when you’re at home - 3 Like Home is making a difference to the market and its success proves that our customers agree.”

The company released this information days before the European Parliament conducts a vote as to whether roaming charges should be capped Europe-wide.

Brits are losing out on almost £2 billion worth of minutes and texts on their mobile phones each year due to them not having the right call plan, according to uSwitch.

These inclusive minutes and texts would be free under the terms of the tariff but consumers are failing to use them. On average 20 hours worth of calls allowance is untaken each year while 73 texts are not used per month.

Across the UK the unused minutes equate to £1 billion on a yearly basis while the inclusive texts that lay dormant amount to £801 million annually - £40 per person.

Steve Weller, head of communication services at uSwitch.com, stated: “This research brings into sharp focus the true cost of locking into what is often an 18-month contract period without understanding whether the tariff is right for your personal needs.”

When it comes to securing the right mobile phone tariff to suit their needs, consumers have been urged by Mr Weller to shop around as each person on a contract is spending nearly £80 more than they need to for the duration of their contract.

One of the key features that is set to make an entrance onto mobile phones in the near future is the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Sony Ericsson believes it can be a social networking tool.Rather than being a bland system, Miles Flint, president of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications said that it could prove to be much more communicative and personal.

Mr Flint told the news agency Reuters’ Global Technology, Media and Telecoms summit: “One of the more compelling things that we might use every day is the integration of that information into knowing where my friends are.”

GPS chips are most commonly found in car navigation systems and they utilise satellites in order to provide the user with accurate information regarding their whereabouts.

Nokia’s chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo had earlier in the week expressed similar sentiments to Mr Flint, stating that mobile phones can prove to be very useful tools regarding social networking. “Your community’s in your pocket,” he said at a shareholders meeting.

New research has alleged that TV shown on mobile phones will report a large boom in demand in 2009, continuing after this time.

According to Multimedia Research Group in the US, 53 million mobile phone handsets with TV incorporated onto them will have been snapped up by 2009. This will increase to 82 million across the globe by 2011.

The research group’s previous estimate as to the uptake of mobile TV was around half the level it was after this latest study and these types of mobile phone will sell in 55 countries.

Peter White, the report’s author, insisted: “Most of these new handsets will deliver Quarter Video Graphics Array quality screens, where voices and lips are synchronised, where there is no shadowing on the screen, and where the resolution is good enough to watch for 30 minutes at a time and beyond.”

He went on to state that although only a handful of mobile phones had been introduced to the market that implemented TV technology, there are currently more than 80 trials in process around the world.

The UK is currently beating the US in terms the percentage of mobile phone users who are surfing the net on their handset, the latest research has shown.

A combined study carried out by comScore and Telephia has discovered that 5.7 million individuals in the UK accessed the internet via a mobile phone in January of this year. This is compared with the 30 million Brits over the age of 15 who used a PC to surf the web in the same period.

In comparison, 30 million people in the US used their mobile internet services in January 2007 out of a possible 176 million internet users in the country.

According to Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe, who spoke to vnunet.com: “Similar to the internet ten to 15 years ago, men under the age of 35 are the early adopters of new technology and more likely to use mobile devices to access the mobile web than women or men aged over 35.”

The most popular ports of call when using the internet on a mobile phone in the UK were found to be the BBC, followed by MSN.

Nokia leads the way in terms of handset sales with contracts, taking first and second place, according to mobiletoday. co.uk.

The flagship Nokia N95 was the most popular mobile phone on the market as of April 23rd, followed by the Nokia 6300 and third place was snatched by the Sony Ericsson W880i.

Top-seller with the Carphone Warehouse, the Nokia N95 is also the second most sold contract phone with Phones 4u as consumers look to take advantage of the model’s five megapixel camera, sleek good looks and MP3 player.

Users can view emails with attachments on the Nokia N95 and can also view their high quality pictures on a 2.6-inch screen before downloading them onto a computer.

There is also built-in GPS mapping, Bluetooth wireless technology, 2GB worth of sound storage available and videos that are captured on the Nokia N95 are shot in “DVD-like quality,” according to the manufacturer.

The Nokia N95 replaced the previous number one best seller the LG Prada phone, which is now in fourth place.