During the past few days numerous press reports have proclaimed that camera phones are helping to boost the revenues of cellular handset manufacturers, such as Samsung and Sony Ericsson.
A Bloomberg News headline called Nokia a camera phone "laggard" and analysts have been saying that the lack of a broad line of camera phones has been hurting Nokia's revenues -- that have been declining for something like four straight quarters.
My view: Beware of placing too much emphasis on camera phones as the savior of handset vendor profitability.
It takes more than a camera
Cameras will be "bullet point" items in the majority of cellular phones within the next 12 months or so. But there's more to creating a profitable company that merely incorporating a camera.
The camera is a start or, rather, an evolutionary process. You have audio capabilities, video capabilities, still imaging capabilities, etc. But you also need a great user interface, great ergonomics, great pricing, etc.
For now -- the short term -- the lack of a broad line of camera phones might have hurt Nokia's profits. At the same time, the incorporation of camera phones and multimedia capabilities are helping other handset vendors, such as Samsung and Sony Ericsson at, apparently, the expense of Nokia.
Don't count Nokia out
Nokia didn't become the king of cellular phone sales by being stupid. Kings come and go, but Nokia has a lot of life remaining!
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