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By David Carnoy Digital imaging is part of the mobile phone's evolution, whether we like it or not. In Japan, one in every three phones now has an embedded camera, according to global research firm Strategy Analytics. By 2007, 147 million of these suckers will be on the streets worldwide. In the United States, several manufacturers, including Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sanyo, and Sony Ericsson, already sell camera phones, and more are on the way. Here's my take on the early offerings. The duller image The first question people ask is, how good a picture can these things take? The short answer: not very. Most camera phones have a maximum resolution of 640x480 and a mediocre fixed lens, so don't expect miracles. I've played around with the Nokia 3650, the Samsung SGH-V205, the Sanyo SCP-5300, and the Sony Ericsson P800, as well as the camera attachments for the Samsung SPH-A500 (Sprint PCS), the Sony Ericsson T68i, and the Sony Ericsson T300. All share the same traits: noisy images comparable to poor TV reception, soft focus, and subpar color reproduction. Still, if everything goes right, you can snap a passable image that a generous critic could argue borders on Webcam quality and has a gritty, of-the-moment look.
I understand the companies' desire to sell the sizzle, but they're hurting themselves by raising expectations too high. We saw how that worked against service providers with the original wireless Internet, which wasn't really the Internet at all Am there, doing that The real appeal of camera phones--and I recommend, for convenience's sake, that you get one with an embedded camera, such as Sanyo's SCP-5300, rather than a camera accessory--is the ability to take a picture and immediately e-mail it. You can also turn your pic into a background image, and on some phones, you can even assign picture IDs to phone-book entries so that a face, instead of a number, pops up on your screen when a friend or a business associate calls. But that stuff is more frivolous. With Sprint, which has one of the better picture services, once you take a shot, you can either store it in the phone's limited memory or upload it to a free personal Web site. From there, you can save it to a computer or e-mail it with a text message. Even with the new higher-speed networks, the process is a little sluggish, taking about 10 to 20 seconds. But the file sizes are small, so the wait isn't too tedious. Clearly, this type of wireless photography has its business uses, but until the image quality improves and digital-only data-service coverage broadens, my guess is these devices will be primarily for personal use. In other words, when you ask a friend over the phone, "What's she look like?" you'll now be able to get a more accurate picture. The darker image At first glance, the camera phone seems innocent. But it's attracted its fair share of controversy, in large part because you can pretend you're talking on the phone while actually taking pictures. Last year, camera phones were banned in Saudi Arabia because men were surreptitiously photographing women. And a British health-club chain threatened to prohibit members from using their cell phones in locker rooms for fear they might be secretly snapping shots of children who entered with their parents. Less malevolent, someone complained to me that since he got his camera phone, his wife keeps asking him to send her a photo to verify he is where he says he is. As these devices proliferate, more unscrupulous uses are sure to crop up. Still, camera phones are here to stay and will increase in popularity as prices drop from their current $250 to $300 range and service providers continue to push the gee-whiz factor. They're key in helping providers increase their average rate per user. Sprint, for example, requires that you sign up for its PCS Vision plan if you want to take pictures, thus tacking an extra $10 onto your bill. Better yet, as you use the service for pictures, you may also decide to download a few games, ring tones, and screensavers, increasing your bill even more. To paraphrase Andre Agassi, who once shilled for Canon that "image is everything," image is now in everything.
David Carnoy is an executive editor for CNET Reviews. Have a question for him? Let us know!  
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