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3G iPhone: What Has Apple Got Against Cameras?

by: Dean Bubley June 10, 2008 | about stocks: AAPL    

Dean Bubley

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Has Steve Jobs lost the plot? Although details are vague, it seems like the new Apple (AAPL) iPhone has the same sub-grade 2MP camera as the original one. That was already obsolete a year ago, when most top-end phones already had 3MP cameras. Now, most mid-top tier devices have 5MP and many have xenon flashes.

This isn't just me talking either - a Nokia (NOK) keynote speaker at the Handset World conference this morning singled out camera capability as *the* most important purchase decision criterion for many customers.

GPS is a nice-to-have. WiFi is a nice-to-have. A decent camera is a must-have.

So, I've reluctantly already added the device to my list of also-rans of phones that look good, but fall down on a deal-breaker element. It doesn't make the grade as a potential day-to-day "personal" phone for me, although it might be a good business device.

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This article has 24 comments:

  •  
    Jun 10 06:20 AM
    OK, let me get this one right....thinking.....

    "Hmmm, I need a PHONE, one that can do other things.....but a PHONE is what I really need. OK, there is this this one, WOW all the nice features, and that one, WOW...more features...but I want a PHONE.....now I want a Computer too, and toss in a GPS...and a MP3 player, a Game console, and it all works together...yeah, that is cool...but WAIT, it isn't a full blown CAMERA TOO?"

    "Forgettabout it then, MY PHONE/GPS/GAMER/BROWSE...

    is GONE....cause I really REALLY wanted a camera, so forget those other things..."

    Suggestion,

    Get some VELCRO, and buy the best camera you can find, and stick your Cell phone on the side.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:26 AM
    Actually, Mr Bubbles, studies have show that the camera in a cell phone is a seldom-used feature.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:26 AM
    Personally, a higher res camera would would be nice, but my main must-have criteria is that my next phone be an iphone.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:30 AM
    "...camera capability as *the* most important..."
    ....target to shoot at?
    or the one and lonely target to shoot at, while competitors may put another sweater on while trying to sell their "innovative" phones to penguis....???
    Who ever paid for this "ingeniously"... article should have saved his money for some research and focus on his own junkyard products!
    priceless, brainless?
    take your own decision!
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:36 AM
    I rank this right up there with:

    seekingalpha.com/artic...

    Seeking Alpha has sunk to new lows in its effort to down Apple.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:38 AM
    Actually I have the iphone and the camera is takes surprisingly great photos.. Lets face it cell phone cameras are for snapshots. If you want to get serious break out the Canon EOS..
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:39 AM
    I think if you're 16, a cellphone camera is very kewl.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:47 AM
    I don't know man ... maybe this makes me Methuselah, but who cares about a camera on a phone. It ranks as one of the dumbest capabilities & qualifies as overrated by far. I have kids & I barely use the camera function. But, then again, I'm sort of a luddite and could easily do without a cell altogether.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:49 AM
    you really have no clue about what you are talking about...

    try answering these questions:

    does your current phone have a camera?
    do you own a digital camera/SLR too?
    would you go on a vacation without your digital camera/SLR and with just your phone?

    if the answers are: yes, yes and no... well, you know what I am talking about....
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 07:37 AM
    Dean, You're a short sighted idiot.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 07:41 AM
    I have yet to see a decent camera in a phone. And contrary to what the author believes, it's not all about megapixels; the microscopic lenses and imagers in camera phones are simply not capable of taking a decent picture.

    Look at it this way: decent cameras cost a couple hundred dollars. You get what you pay for.

    I'd trade camera functionality for longer battery life any day.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 08:42 AM
    A cellphone without a camera is like a wristwatch without a potato peeler.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 08:45 AM
    If you want a decent camera, then you also want to provide flash which would be drain in the memory. For me, GPS has a lot more value than camera
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 08:47 AM
    Are you out of your mind? Any type of camera that is attached to a phone is not a camera. I am not a photo snob, but come on now, phone cameras are for little more than remembering how something looks or record an accident. Whether it is 2 or 4MP really doesn't matter. It is still a poor and very limited photo recording device.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 09:32 AM
    Phones are terrible, no horrible, cameras. The form factor alone makes taking decent pictures impossible; it is very hard to hold the phone steady. Second the small lens on phones introduce more digital noise as the resolution goes up. Phone cameras are OK for snapshots, but that's about it. Buy a camera instead if one wants decent pictures.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 09:41 AM
    Well I can certainly understand wanting the most features one can get but for me personally, the 2mp camera on the iphone is sufficient .
    The quality is not bad at all and it's good to take snapshots at your drunken friends..
    I own a very nice compact Nikon and there is not one cell phone on hearth that can take quality pictures like my camera, I have used the Nokia N93 5mp phone the picture quality is average to low compared to a 5mp camera of 1/3 the price although it is a cool do it all phone it's hard to use and even with a 5mp camera built in I found myself using my own camera to take serious shots simply because the quality is better , vibrant rich colors, low noise, overall much better than the camera on the Nokia
    so again personally I would never replace my $100 camera with a $500 phone
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 09:42 AM
    "A cellphone without a camera is like a wristwatch without a potato peeler."



    lololololololololololo...
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 09:47 AM
    What group of people were they talking to that thinks Wi-Fi and GPS are less important than a camera ON A PHONE?
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 10:53 AM
    Nokia came out with an unusually thick camera phone a little while back and I've always wondered why anyone would want the devise as a phone. It's not a very mobile looking devise. I've seen one being used by a woman while at a coffee shop and was struck by it's size after first mistaking it for a digital camera. What a silly feature to want in a phone. I would be reluctant to pull the thing out in a room of strangers, much less in a meeting. Unless your a pervert and need something like that.. why would you want to carry it around.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 12:42 PM
    (1) I am admitted Apple investor and fanboy.

    (2) I own an iphone

    (3) I have ALWAYS thought the camera on the iPhone was pretty poor. I believe this is mostly doe to the small lens size, in low-light conditions it is difficult to not get a photo that is not blurry. In good light, the photos are actually VERY good.

    But here's the deal.

    Cellphone cameras are for little "here and there" snapshots only and are best used to snap a photo and then email them to someone else's cellphone. That's about it. I primarily have used my cellphone cameras to take notes - I take photos of things like prices instead of taking copious notes.

    But if this is an INVESTING site that is to be taken SERIOUSLY then this "article" has no merit, is written by a technological neophyte, and will just make me consider other sources of information more seriously for my morning reading.

    That being said, even though the iPhone is amazing, how about giving guys like this one last thing less to bitch about and make the camera better? Just a thought.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 02:10 PM
    blah blah blah.

    BLAME THE CELL PHONE CARRIERS. The US cell phone carriers refuse to sell phones with >2MP cameras. Period. They do not want the bandwidth usage.

    That is why the iPhone, and every other phone in the US, is stuck with pathetic 2mp cameras. Even though the rest of the world is far past 2mp. You can't even buy a Sony K-line phone here. Or a high end Samsung or Nokia unless it is unlocked.

    WHY DOES NO ONE KNOW OR UNDERSTAND THIS?
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 02:29 PM
    Why in the world would I need a 5mp camera in my phone when it's only gonna take random drunk pictures of hot chicks at bars or my friends doing something stupid? Once you get past 3mp, the only difference is if you blow the picture up to poster size. Frankly, I don't think I'll ever find drunk chicks that hot or doing anything that crazy which would require poster size embelleshment.

    That said, the iPhone camera leaves much to be desired. Upping the MP alone isn't going to make it "better".
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 10 06:04 PM
    IMO, the responses marks the grossly different usage and behavior model of cellular phones in the US and the rest of the world.

    In the countries I travel to, including Western Europe and East Asia, people have long replaced their camera with their cell-phone cameras for casual usage. Of course they still have a big SLR DC when they take pictures at weddings or traveling, but for most of their pictures taken on a daily basis it is cell phone camera.

    I personally only uses my N95 for pictures since my brother has his SLR. My friends uses their iPhone only for pictures most of the time. Honestly speaking the picture quality of iPhone is not bad at all considering the lack of flash.
    Reply
  •  
    Jun 15 07:36 AM
    This is my article.

    First of all, note that I do not write it for SeekingAlpha. This site syndicates content from my own well-read (wireless industry) blog at disruptivewireless.blo... , which is not primarily intended for investors but mobile industry insiders. It is a mix of industry analysis & some of my own personal views on matters mobile. I seldom read & respond to comments on here. SeekingAlpha doesn't pay for my articles, and neither does anyone else.

    This particular post was a follow-on to one a few weeks ago, in which I'd discussed a range of recent top-end devices as part of a narrative with my readers about my own, personal choice of devices & my personal criteria for choosing them. I'd ended it with the comment that the 3G iPhone could well have been one which ticked all the boxes. For reference, my current main personal phone is a Sony Ericsson K800i, on which I've taken over 1500 photos, many in low light & with some remarkably good results - and many on occasions when I wouldn't have had my normal camera with me. If you're reading it out of context, this may not have been apparent.

    The fact remains that many individuals *are* choosing phones on the basis of the camera. You may not like it, and you're right that megapixels=quality is a very simplistic equation, but it's a fact of massmarket buying behaviour. People stand in stores and say "Oooh, that one's got a 5MP camera!". Often that's on the basis of seeing a plastic model nailed to the wall - they may not even see the UI & software until they buy it. Apple is ignoring it at its peril, especially in Europe & advanced Asian markets. I think Jobs has made a bizarre error in not upgrading the camera (and also still no memory card slot either).

    However, looking at the details of the iPhone I am indeed more convinced by its benefits as a business phone, and may get one to replace my current HTC email/web device. (Yes, like most people in the UK, I have two primary phones & have no desire to "converge" to a single device).
    Reply
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