When Kelly Hennigan visited Las Vegas recently, she had plenty
of reasons to take photos, but no camera. Instead, she took
pictures using an attachment that turned her cell phone into a
digital camera.
Picture phone tech keeps getting better
By Rachel Kipp
Special to South Valley Newspapers
When Kelly Hennigan visited Las Vegas recently, she had plenty of reasons to take photos, but no camera. Instead, she took pictures using an attachment that turned her cell phone into a digital camera.
“It was an extra $70,” said Hennigan, 25, of Whittier, as she shopped at the Premium Outlets in Gilroy recently. “I thought it would be cool to have.”
The kind of spontaneous picture-taking Hennigan did on her trip is the primary reason customers are interested in acquiring cellular phones with camera or video capabilities, Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak said.
“When you’re using a super-high-quality camera, whether it’s a 35 millimeter or a digital, that’s something you take with you when you know you’re going to be taking a picture,” Nowak said. “A camera phone is for capturing things so you can share instantly.”
About 40 percent of customers who visit Cellular Universe on First Street in Gilroy are looking for camera phones, which commonly cost more than their non-camera counterparts, store CEO Mike O’Neill said.
“I think it’s more a fad than anything else,” said O’Neill, adding that he’s seen the phones come in handy for motorists involved in traffic accidents and real estate agents showing houses to customers.
The cost of a camera phone varies, with companies such as Verizon and Cingular offering packages that include them for as low as $79.99 with a two-year contract. O’Neill said many customers come to his store unprepared for the time commitment and charges for taking digital photos.
“Ideally, what they intended it to do is to send pictures from phone to phone,” he said. “If you send a picture from one phone to another there’s two charges there. That’s where it gets confusing — if you don’t pick a picture messaging package they’ll charge you like 25 cents a picture.”
Rather than paying per photo, most carriers offer packages that include a certain number of photos sent or received per month for a flat fee. The photos can also be sent from phone to computer and turned into prints.
Morgan Hill resident Sonia Pintar said she recently decided against buying a camera phone. “I think they’re going to get better in the next year and that’s why I waited,” Pintar said.
As Pintar predicted, companies are continuing to upgrade the capabilities of camera phones. Nowak, of Nokia, said mega-pixel cell phones, which create photos with triple the resolution of those currently on the market, are only beginning to become available in the United States.
“When you print three-by-five or even four-by-six it’s indistinguishable from most digital cameras,” he said.
With the majority of camera phones, the smaller the pictures are, the better they look, said Sean Oh, manager of Be Mobile on Chestnut Street in Gilroy. Oh said customers should consider how much they plan to use the camera feature before buying a phone with more advanced technology.
“Some people look for the best out there whatever the cost and never seem to use them,” Oh said. “When purchasing a phone it would be good to shop around and to do some comparisons, see who has better prices.”
