>>Squire Hawk, Ausdauer, Cha2, what do the rest of you guys/gals say? ...how bout a little help.<<
Stan, no one is more gracious about passing the buck than you. So I can I resist your request for assistance? How's this:
For those who wish to learn about digital photography try the Digital Photography Resource Page
dcresource.com
Or to learn about digital camera choices
imaging-resource.com
Market Information:
(3 sources)
Source 1: 1999 Industry Survey
istweb.syr.edu
Emerging Non-Traditional Storage Markets 1999-2002(units in thousands)
1999 2000 2001 2002
Laser Printers 980.1 1,380.8 1,904.8 2,787.0
GPS Systems 100.0 300.0 700.0 940.0
Set Top Boxes 3,500.0 8,000.0 12,100.0 18,700.0
Digital Camera 4,120.0 16,420.0 27,590.0 42,860.0
Other 26.4 40.7 49.8 75.6
Totals 8,726.5 26,141.5 42,344.6 65,362.6
Source: Peripheral Research Corp., May 5, 1999.
[note: digital camera storage market change from 1999 to 2000 equals 198% growth]
excerpts:
The digital camera market is one of the hottest and most exciting in the IT industry today. Rapidly falling price points and increased image quality are driving demand across all segments. The digital camera market is projected to grow at an annual compounded rate of 50% through 2003, according to International Data Corp.
International Data Corporation expects the worldwide market for entry-level adult digital cameras priced under $150 to increase from 950,000 units in 1999 to 5.7 million in 2003. Analysts predict even greater growth in the kid's market for toy digital cameras.
-------------------------------------
Source 2:
infotrends-rgi.com
February 28, 2000
About the Internet Imaging Market
By InfoTrends' definition, the Internet imaging market includes Web-based
imaging services, solutions enabling the rich and accurate display of images
via the Internet, and Internet-connected capture and display devices.
According to InfoTrends, there were 2.8 million U.S. photo-pushing online
photo community members in 1999, and the number of discrete U.S. visitors
to online photo community sites is expected to top 135 million by 2003.
Over 4 billion U.S. amateur prints will be obtained through online
photofinishers in 2005.
"The explosive growth we have seen in consumer-oriented online photo
communities and online photofinishers is just the beginning of what's in store
for the Internet imaging market" says Lia Schubert, an Internet imaging
analyst at InfoTrends Research Group
-----------------------------------
Source 3
pd.pennwellnet.com; VERSION_NUM=1&KEYWORD=digital%20camera%20growth
excerpts:
Digital camera market breaks out this year
Article Date: August, 1999
By W. David Gardner Contributing Editor
Sometime later this year, the digital camera market will
cross the Rubicon from niche business to mass consumer
market. The key breakthroughs will be various digital
cameras sporting megapixel resolution with end-user prices
of less than $500.
This, at any rate, is one conclusion reached by researchers
at Future Image (San Mateo, Calif.) and International Data
Corp. (IDC--Framingham, Mass.), two market research firms
that have cooperated in studies of the digital camera
market.
In the latest IDC study, consumer applications are
expected to drive worldwide digital camera shipments to 4.7
million units this year, growing to an "astounding 22 million
by 2003." In forecasting a compound annual growth rate of
48% over the 1999 to 2003 period, IDC figures the
worldwide annual value of digital cameras will grow from
$2.7 billion in 1999 to $6.4 billion in 2003. In the report, IDC
notes that "once-common inhibitors are breaking down."
Indeed, various inhibitors to digital camera growth are being
swept away by a series of rapid technology changes in
sensors, chipsets, and pixel resolution. Another market
research firm, Semico Research of Belgium, predicts even
higher numbers for digital camera shipments, with its
forecast of six million units this year and 26 million in 2002.
Semico says the market center has been hovering around
the $500 to $1000 range, which is above the price comfort
level of most consumers. That`s changing, though, as
prices begin to drop. With just six digital camera models on
the market in 1997 and more than 100 today, the market is
exploding. Now looms the monster that stalks so many
manufacturers of portable products--commoditization.
As for memory cards, digital camera designers have an
embarrassment of riches to choose from. But as no
absolute standard has emerged, users usually can`t use
the cards in different cameras. Predicting a compound
annual growth rate of 69% through 2002, IDC is forecasting
40 million cards will be shipped in 2002. But whose cards?
Battling it out
Intel has thrown in the towel for its Miniature Card flash
memory module in its drive to make the module the de facto
standard for portable consumer electronic devices, including
digital cameras. This leaves CompactFlash to fight it out
with SmartMedia, but just as that fight warms up, Sony has
weighed in with its proprietary flash memory devices.
Other manufacturers are promoting their own proprietary
memory cards for digital cameras. Some designers are
successfully using the tried and true Type I, II, and III PC
Cards. And even CompactFlash, which is in the lead, is
mutating while members of the CompactFlash Association
battle one another. Lexar Media (Fremont, Calif.), for
instance, has unveiled a CompactFlash card with built-in
USB connectivity while locked in a legal battle with
CompactFlash pioneer SanDisk (Sunnyvale, Calif.).
And the winner is...
So whose flash card is winning? IDC, which sees digital
cameras driving the flash card market to over $1 billion in
2002, has predicted that CompactFlash will prevail. But
Future Image`s Gerard isn`t so sure. "We`re still quite far
from the finish line," says Gerard. "There are a number of
different competing alternatives [in memory cards]. First,
one takes the lead, then the other. It`s anybody`s game
now."
|
