Camera Phones are more than the latest technological fad.

Worldwide, more camera phones were sold last year than digital cameras. Sales went up almost five-fold from 2002 to 84 million.

“The adoption of camera phones is not just a cute new feature on our phones, but an important change in the infrastructure.” argues Andrew Fano, Ph.D., referring to waves of change predicted to come as a result of widespread social acceptance of camera phones.

“Today we see them as social devices; allowing us to share fun moments with our friends and family ones, but like traditional phones before them, they’ll become an important business channel. Where phones represented the ability of a person to contact an organization and tell them something, camera phones enable a person to show them something.

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As businesses begin to literally see the world the way their customers do, with the customers sending in photos and video of products, parts, etc., businesses will need to figure out ways to deal with the incoming information. For businesses to accommodate phone calls required more than a phone line, it required a call center. Accommodating media will mean more than the technical ability to receive an image or video. It means integrating this media into the processes of the organization.

It opens up possibilities in customer service, security, sales and supply management. Processes and systems will need to be developed to manage the incoming media, process the data, respond accordingly and archive the information so that it is accessible in the future.

Imagine a severe storm. Rather than waiting for the insurance adjusters to survey neighborhoods, homeowners could photograph and submit pictures of damage. This would enable the insurance company to prioritize their responses more effectively as well as respond faster.

This is not just a change to the call center but rather to key business processes. The ability to see the world directly through the eyes of citizens, customers and employees could impact careers in many areas, including technology, marketing, customer service, media production, call centers, and information management.

In Intel's research labs, camera phones are being used as pointing devices, authentication devices, and storage devices. Intel researchers have also shown how camera phones can provide user interfaces for systems that, because of cost and/or form factor, aren't able to accommodate a display of their own.

Video & Camera Phone News

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