Although almost 80 percent of adults in the U.K. own cellular phones, cellular operators are extremely disappointed with the number of photos transmitted from camera phones, according to an article in the Guardian.
Based on data from Continental Research, the Guardian reports only three percent of camera phone owners are transmitting photos once a day compared to eight percent a year ago. More than a third of the users have never transmitted a photo, compared to 25 percent a year ago.
The average number of photos transmitted per month has decreased from 6.1 to 3.7 percent. However, the decrease is partly the result of more people buying camera phones who are not as enthusiastic about the service as the early adopters.
Camera sales increasing
Continental Research says there are 7.5 million camera phones in the U.K. compared to three million a year ago. "But the figures also show that most people are using the phones as pocket photo albums, taking pictures and storing them in the handset's memory to show to friends and relatives," the article says.
"Only one in five camera phone owners has failed to use the function at all. While the total number of messages sent has risen slightly, the figures will prove worrying for the networks that have invested heavily in trying to convince their customers to send one another photo messages with the same enthusiasm with which they text one another."
One reason more photos aren't transmitted is users aren't convinced the images will arrive.
A boon to photo processors?
Although camera phone users aren't transmitting as many photos as hoped, they are interested in printing photos. "Around half of those with mobile camera handsets said that they would be likely to use high street kiosks that allowed them to print out photos directly from their phone," the article says.
"Companies such as Bonusprint are also experimenting with innovative new services that bypass the operators and allow users to publish their photos to a website before deciding which ones to have developed."
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