BOSTON-New research shows the handset industry shipped a total of 257 million camera phones worldwide last year, comprising 38 percent of the total handset market. The numbers are way up from the 84 million, or 16 percent of the total market, in 2003.
“Global camera-phone sales grew by an impressive 200 percent year-over-year in 2004,” said Neil Mawston, associate director of the Wireless Device Strategies service at research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics, which released the numbers. “Nokia led the pack, with an 18-percent worldwide market share, followed closely by Motorola at 17 percent and Samsung in third position at 13 percent.”
The firm said camera phones outsold digital still cameras by almost four to one. Camera makers sold 68 million digital still cameras last year.
