Smile and say 'cheese' for the cell phone

Camera and imaging technology are moving fast -- very fast. Affordable digital cameras, for example, have only been around for a few years, yet today we have 4-megapixel digital cameras that take photo-quality pictures. Imaging technology is moving at lightning speed, too. Anyone with a computer and a digital camera can send pictures as e-mail attachments to anyone on the planet with access to the Internet -- in a matter of seconds.

The latest news in cameras and imaging technology is, as my 11-year-old son would say, "awesome." Today, cameras and imaging technology are available in another device that many people own, and take with them just about everywhere: cell phones.

AT&T Wireless, T-Mobil and Sprint now offer, or soon will offer, phones in the U.S. capable of taking, sending and receiving pictures -- as long as you are in an area that offers Web browsing from the phone. (Cell phones with cameras have been available in Japan for a few years. Industry experts say about 5 million of them are in use in Japan.) Nokia, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp and Sony-Ericsson are producing the phones, which sell from $200 to $400. All have color display panels.

The image quality from camera-equipped phones is not great for printing, but the low-resolution images are acceptable for viewing on line. What's low? The Sanyo SCP-5300, for example, offers three settings that are all relatively low: High (VGA: 640 x 480), Med (QVGA: 320 x 240), Low (QQVGA: 160 x 120). Even at the High setting, a 3x5-inch print would look grainy. But again, that's fine for e-mailing and Web viewing.

Because the photos are taken at a low-resolution, however, many pictures can be stored in-camera. The Sharp J-SH09, for example, can store 1,000 pictures taken at the lowest-quality setting in its 5MB memory.

In choosing a camera-equipped cell phone, serious picture-takers (who like to have fun) should consider camera features. Sprint's PCS Vision model, for example, includes a zoom function, white balance, color tone (color, sepia and black and white) and flash.

Of course, you can make phone calls with the camera-equipped phones, if you are in the phone's network service area. You need to be in a Web network area to send and receive photos.

So, is there a camera-equipped cell phone in your future?

Probably so.

Some industry experts predict that by 2007, camera-equipped cell phones will outsell digital cameras.