• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 9, 2007

According to a market study by Strategy Analytics, one third of the world population will own a camera phone by 2011. The number of camera phones in use this year will exceed one billion, with new sales boosted by early adopters replacing one-Megapixel handsets and first-time buyers alike.

David Kerr, vice president, Global Wireless practice at Strategy Analytics, says "The camera phone market is now entering its third phase where the focus will move from Megapixel and basic image enablement to the quality of the imaging experience. In North America, and Western Europe, one Megapixel devices are now table stakes, while niche devices with five Megapixels or more will rise to over 2 percent of sales this year..."

Other key findings from the study:

• Global camera phone handset revenues will grow to over $120 Billion by 2011
• Nokia is the clear market leader at 28% global share, while Motorola also shipped over 100 million units in the last 12 months
• SEMC has raised the user experience bar for camera phones with their Cybershot range, and has outperformed in this category as well as in the music domain
• VGA camera phones' share of the market will fall from 38% to under 7% over the forecast period

Neil Mawston, Associate Director and Chief Mobile Imaging Analyst, noted that "Camera phones have been a huge success, with unit sales rising from three million in 2001 to 500 million last year."

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