Mobile Megapixel Monitor Tracks High-Resolution Camera-Phones

Orlando, Fla. - February 17, 2005 – Today at the Photo Marketing Association’s annual conference, Future Image announced an important new tool for marketing and product development professionals in the imaging and wireless industries: The Mobile Megapixel Monitor (MMM), a new feature of Future Image’s Mobile Imaging Report (MIR), provides up to the minute reference information on all camera-phones with megapixel or greater resolution currently for sale in North America, or announced for sale in the near term. The information will reside in an online database accessible at all times to MIR subscribers.

There are currently over 60 different models of camera-phones on the North American market, most of which are VGA resolution or lower, making them unsuitable as replacements for primary film or digital cameras. However, megapixel-class units have recently been introduced in the U.S. and Canada by all the top-tier carriers, and more are expected in the coming months. Furthermore, two- and even three-megapixel units are already commonplace in Japan and Korea, and are expected to begin appearing in North America this year.

The introduction of cell phones with truly camera-like features, starting with but not limited to megapixel resolution, is expected to drive profound changes in user behaviors, and therefore in the competitive landscape for imaging products and services. Executives and companies involved in the field can use the MMM to know, at any time, which models are available, compare the lineups of different manufacturers and carriers, and observe/quantify developing trends in key feature areas. Some of the information in the MMM can be found nowhere else — not in press releases, not on carrier web sites, not on manufacturer web sites, not even in owner’s manuals.

The MMM includes all the key imaging-related specifications for tracked products, including:

·         Manufacturer

·         Model

·         Carrier

·         Price

·         Availability – shipping or not, date promised

·         Style (form factor)

·         Dimensions (inches & ounces)

·         Dimensions (metric)

·         Sensor type (CMOS or CCD)

·         Sensor Resolution (pixel count)

·         Optical zoom factor

·         Digital zoom factor

·         Flash

·         Video capture capability

·         Display type

·         Display size

·         Display color capabilities

·         Additional camera features, such as rotating camera or lens cover

·         Support for removable memory, and format

·         Connectivity options such as Bluetooth, USB, IrDA

·         Photo of the device

The MMM is available immediately to MIR subscribers. It currently tracks 12 camera-phones, and is expected to double within the next few months.

Full or partial listings of the MMM are available to journalists upon request at Future Image’s discretion, and provided that full attribution will be given in the publication. Under the same proviso, journalists seeking answers to questions such as: How many megapixel camera-phones support removable media? or Which camera-phone has the best video capture capabilities? are welcome to submit their questions to [email protected] for a prompt response based on the data in the MMM.

About Future Image:

Future Image Inc., the leading independent center of expertise on the convergence of imaging, technology, and business, hosts the hugely successful Mobile Imaging Summit executive conferences (www.gmedication.com), the Mobile Imaging Learning Center in the Mobile Imaging Pavilion at PMA, and the Mobile Imaging Perspectives conference at CTIA (http://www.gmedication.com/CTIA.htm).

Future Image’s Mobile Imaging Report continuous information service is the definitive resource for companies and executives with a stake in the explosive Mobile Imaging phenomenon. In addition to the new MMM, the MIR includes:

·         MIR Weekly News: a comprehensive newsletter covering all the news that impacts the Mobile Imaging industry worldwide, from the announcement and release of new mobile imaging devices, to developments in imaging components such as sensors, lenses, processors, displays, drivers, and software algorithms, to new service and content offerings and wireless operator news, to stories about new and unexpected uses for mobile imaging. All forms of wireless are covered — WPAN, WLAN, and WWAN — as well as all geographies from North America to Europe to Asia Pacific, as well as emerging markets like Russia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Every week, the MIR covers Wireless deals — acquisitions, mergers, fundings — and Mobile People — hirings, firings, promotions, and resignations.

·         MIR Reports: Six in-depth reports per year on key issues, delivered to subscribers as site-licensed PDF files. Recent reports include “The Camera-Phone Phenomenon – A New Deal for Imaging,” “Will Camera-Phones Replace Digital Cameras?,” “4 x 6 Shoot-Out – Are Camera-Phones Ready To Make Consumer Prints?,” “Sending Photos Phone to Phone: Challenges & Opportunities,” and “Turning Push into Pull – A Report From the Mobile Imaging Summit.”

·         The MIR Archives: Every news story, dating back to Future Image’s initial coverage of Mobile Imaging in June 2000 — more than 4,100 at present — and every report, including the benchmark “Wireless Imaging – Overcoming the Challenges” — is part of a web-based, keyword-searchable archive that is the single most complete source for research on the Mobile Imaging industry. The archive currently contains more than 5,000 keyword-searchable pages and 1,750 illustrations covering every aspect of Mobile Imaging.

·         MIR Consultation: Subscribers get personal, private access to the leading independent expert on Mobile Imaging — Tony Henning, senior analyst and managing editor of the MIR.

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