Cameras Are Dead, Long Live Smartphones

What’s the Latest Development?

Sales of point-and-shoot cameras fell off a cliff last year and the spike in smartphone use is to blame. Analysts say the increasingly social function of photographs, sharing them online via Flickr, Facebook and so on, makes the smartphone more convenient for many users. “It’s about how consumers are using cameras, and on what occasions. The smartphone is popular because it’s always in your pocket, and you are connected so you can directly upload to the internet whenever you want.”

What’s the Big Idea?

Companies like Apple are actively trying to capture the camera market and the camera industry is feeling the effects. The iPhone 4S has an 8-megapixel camera, an improvement over the 4-megapixel iPhone 4. The sales trend was confirmed last week when it was announced that the groundbreaking film company Kodak was on the brink of bankruptcy. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, camera makers will be eager to show off new innovations like water resistance, 3D photography and intelligent focusing.

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