A lot of phones
What have you been thinking about lately? I’ve been pondering the fact that virtually every phone sold today comes with an integrated digital camera. I don’t think you can even find a new mobile phone without an integrated camera! With so many cellphones being sold today it is no wonder that a Lyra Industry Report predicted that by ”early 2009, the cumulative number of camera phones shipped will surpass the cumulative number of both conventional and digital cameras shipped in the entire history of photography”. The CIA Factbook estimates that as of 2007 there were over 4 billion mobile phones in use worldwide. It follows that there are a lot of people toting around a cameraphone and practicing the art of celltography!
Another Version of Moore’s law
Cameraphone quality seems to be abiding by its own version of Moore’s Law. The quality of digital cameras is improving at an accelerating rate. The Motorola E815 
that I recently retired had an 1.3 MP integrated camera with a 4x zoom. Now I shoot with an LG Dare that has a 3.2 MP camera or I use my 3G iPhone with a 2MP camera. My current phones generate pictures good enough to print in 4″x6″ format. Since I bought my phones during the past year or so, you can buy cellphones with integrated cameras of much higher resolution. Last week CNET published a helpful review of the better cameras available on phones. For example, the Samsung Memoir has an 8MP camera and the Sony Ericcson 905 has an 8.1 MP camera. These phones are not only competing with other phones but they are competing with single-purpose cameras! The cameraphones mentioned in that CNET review are very expensive, but Moore’s Law tells us to that they will become more affordable and common place in no time!
Grab your phone. Share a moment. @celltography
Tags: digital photography, mobile phone photography, Moore's Law, technology
