Camera Cell Phone

A couple of people emailed this morning to ask about the Treo item (posted below). Specifically, they asked whether I thought Treo would be a "hit." My answer is "yes," but within a quite small market segment (road warriors and business types).

Fearless prediction: The next "killer ap" in the wireless device category won't be Treo or any other product like it, it will be cell phones with built-in cameras. These will enable you and I to take pictures and then send them off to friends and family via wireless Internet. Camera cell phones were a huge hit at the recently concluded Cebit technology trade fair. And Nokia is more or less betting the farm on camera cell phones, which means that the company that makes 7 out of every 10 cell phones will put all of its marketing muscle behind these products. There's a good report on all this in the new Economist, which you can read (subscription required, I think) by clicking here.