Will Camera Phones Overtake Digital Cameras?

Not only are they selling faster than digital cameras worldwide, but according to Lyra Research, a digital imaging research firm, camera phones are outselling film and digital cameras combined. Lyra's new report estimates that the installed base of camera phones will reach approximately 850 million units in 2006, and this number is expected to grow to more than 1.5 billion units in 2010. And, it's all happened in less than 5 years, says Lyra's director of consumer imaging.

How do camera phones do relative to digital cameras when it comes to taking photos? There's still no comparison. Digital cameras typically take much higher resolution images, and have more features like auto focus, flash and control over your images. But camera phones are catching up and certainly, people are more likely to carry a phone than a camera with them. Camera phones seize the day when it comes to capturing life's unexpected, non-photo-op moments.

The king of the camera phones for the moment is the new Samsung SCH-A990. With its high resolution 3.2 megapixel images and a great twist and flip screen that rotates to feel like a real camera, it's reigning champ. PC Magazine reports that the Samsung comes the closest yet to feeling like a real digital camera. There was no problem viewing the images in sunlight, but it lost out to traditional digital cameras on things like it's slow on autofocus and difficulty in transferring photos.

The LG Chocolate is the rage of the moment for style and design. Its camera phone is 1.3 megapixels and most of the reviews are calling it n adequate, but not stellar camera performance.

The Nokia N90 is a 2 megapixel camera whose LCD viewfinder also twists and flips to let you take a great photo. And it has a nice a zoom, autofocus,and a timer, making it feel like a real camera.