Phones with the ability to take images, both still and video, have captured about 40 percent of the wireless phone market, according to industry analysts. That’s the good news. But for every silver lining, there’s a cloud. Research conducted by In-Stat has found that while a camera is considered by many users to be one of the most desirable features in wireless handsets, only a small percentage of camera phones are used regularly to transmit pictures or to store for later use. The Phoenix-based research firm also found:

1) The vast majority of users in the survey use a high-resolution digital camera in addition to their camera phones.

2) Many camera phone users want the higher resolution capability found in current digital cameras. Fewer than two percent of respondents say they will consider a camera phone with less than one megapixel, while more than 50 percent say they only would consider a handset with more than two megapixels of resolution.

3) Most survey respondents indicated that they take fewer than ten pictures with their camera phones each month.

These reservations, plus the fact that only three percent of the respondents use their phones as their only digital camera, led In-Stat to conclude that the North American market for camera and camcorder phones will peak in 2007.

Some help is on the way in the form of higher-performing, in-phone cameras. Samsung, for instance, recently unveiled the world's first 10-megapixel mobile phone (model: SCH-B600), and the world’s first 8-GB hard-dis- embedded smart phone (model: SGH-i310). The company believes its 10-megapixel camera phone will satisfy consumers who are seeking higher quality photography in their mobiles.

A March 2006 national survey of cell phone owners conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project together with the Associated Press and AOL found that 22 percent of cell phone owners now play games on their mobile phones and another 12 percent would play games if their phones had this feature.

Looking at a demographic breakdown of the Pew Research study, 47 percent of survey respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 said they played games compared to 21 percent of those 30-47 years old, ten percent of 50-64 year olds and just three percent of respondents 65 years old or older reported they play games on their mobile phones.

According to Verizon Wireless, the company saw a 36 percent growth in gaming downloads over the last year since launching premium games as part of the V Cast service. Currently there are more than 40 games available on V Cast, retailing between $7.49 and $12.99 per title for unlimited game play or between $2.49 and $4.99 for a monthly subscription.

When these games are delivered over a high-speed network, such as Verizon Wireless' EV-DO-based national network, subscribers rapidly can access much larger and more compelling titles, generating excitement in the gaming community as well as significantly more revenue for the service provider.