VALHALLA, N.Y.-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc. are partnering for a service that allows subscribers to order photo prints from their handsets and pick them up at local retailers in as little as an hour.
The carrier launched Get the Picture Mobile, a $3-a-month offering developed by Summus Inc. In addition, Cingular said it has improved its wireless postcard service, a subscription service that enables users to send traditional Fujifilm photo postcards from camera-phone images.
Fuji distributes prints from digital images at grocery chains, camera retailers and drugstores nationwide.
With the latest offerings, the No. 1 U.S. operator continues to court what it hopes is the still-untapped camera-phone print market. Results from a study released by Cingular Tuesday indicate 45 percent of camera-phone users have taken photos with their phones they wish they had printed.
The survey, which was conducted by NPD Techworld, found that nearly 22 percent of U.S. users carry camera phones, up from just 7 percent the previous year. But reasons users gave for not printing images included poor picture quality, perceived cost and complicated printing processes.
Cingular said the results signal “a significant opportunity for retailers and vendors to capitalize on the printing potential from accelerating adoption rates of camera phones and the growth in mobile imaging.”
Nextel Communications Inc. in June-before it completed its merger with Sprint Corp.-also launched the Fuji printing service.
