Skip to main content

Growth of Digital Cameras in New Devices

Continued uptake of digital cameras in mobile phones, notebook PCs and other CE devices is driving growth in the area-array image sensor market, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.

Worldwide unit shipments of image sensors in camera phones continue to rise, mostly as a result of the continuing penetration of dual-camera phones in Asian markets. These phones utilize both a traditional point-and-shoot camera, as well as a second, inward-facing camera for two-way video communication.

As in most aspects of advanced mobile phone applications, the Asia-Pacific market continues to lead the way for others to follow. A promising new image sensor application is also taking hold.

"Currently a small segment of the market, embedded PC cameras will surpass digital still cameras to become the second-largest application for image sensors by 2011," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst.

"A few years ago, only Apple incorporated cameras into desktop and laptop computers -- in 2008, nearly all major PC manufacturers offered embedded PC cameras in mobile PCs."

In-Stat's market study found the following:

- Camera phones comprised nearly 81 percent of area-array image sensor shipments in 2008, a share that is expected to shrink only slightly through 2013.

- Other key applications include: Digital Still Cameras, Camcorders, Security Cameras, Web Cameras, Consumer IP Cameras, Embedded PC Cameras, Embedded LCD Monitor Cameras, Toys, Automotive.

- CMOS sensors dominated image sensor shipments in 2008, with more than an 87 percent share.

- CMOS will make up 62 percent of security camera image sensors by 2013.

- While CMOS is gaining in digital still cameras, it will not surpass CCDs until 2013.

- Among the many competitors in this market are Aptina, MagnaChip, OmniVision Technologies, Sharp, Sony, and Panasonic.

Popular posts from this blog

AI's Handicap Isn't Chips, It's the Power Grid

We know artificial intelligence consumes huge amounts of energy. The power grid is now a major concern in enterprise technology strategy, and it's reshaping decisions that used to belong entirely to the CIO. For three decades, capacity planning meant negotiating with a cloud provider or a colocation vendor. Today it increasingly means understanding utility interconnection queues, local zoning battles, and the willingness of hyperscale operators to build faster than the grid can comfortably absorb. New research from Synergy Research Group puts deep market data behind a trend every large enterprise buyer has already felt: the constraints are real, but the AI  infrastructure build-out is not slowing down. Electric Power Grid Market Development Synergy's tracking shows that total U.S. data center capacity is on pace to double within the next three years, even as power availability and local opposition create genuine friction for new projects. It's a striking signal that demand ...