Ontela, Inc. (http://www.ontela.com [1]) released research today that suggests that camera phone photo uploads lag far behind their digital camera counterparts. Despite projections that say camera phone photos will account for 62 percent of all digital photos taken in 2009, pictures from the phone account for only 11 percent of photos uploaded to the popular Flickr website.
"The shortage of camera phone photos posted to the web presents a unique challenge for image hosting services," said Dan Shapiro, CEO of Ontela. "The pictures people take with their phones are valuable to them, and are only getting more so as phone cameras get better and better. Obviously people are finding the process of getting the photos posted to be too cumbersome, which is a shame considering the fantastic five, eight, and even twelve megapixel devices available now."
Camera phones not only will outpace traditional digital cameras in total pictures taken this year, but they are projected to make up 86 percent of all digital picture taking devices sold worldwide. Without better solutions to help consumers upload their pictures to the web, many camera phone photos may never see the light of day.
"The good news is the trend seems to be shifting," said Shapiro. "An iPhone user is just as likely upload their pictures as a digital camera user, and users of Ontela's service are actually more likely to upload their photos than digital camera users."
About Ontela
Ontela provides technology infrastructure to wireless carriers that allows consumers to unlock the photos in their camera phones. Ontela's PicDeck technology has been certified by 30 operators including Verizon, T-Mobile, and Alltel on more than 100 handsets. It is also available preinstalled on devices from all five of the top global handset manufacturers. Ontela is headquartered in Seattle and is backed by Steamboat Ventures, Hunt Ventures, Voyager Capital, and Oak Investment Partners. For more information, visit www.ontela.com [1].
Links:
[1] http://www.ontela.com/