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Sales of camera phones will more than double in Western Europe over the next three years as prices fall, Gartner says.

Of all new phones sold in Western Europe by 2006, around 66 percent of them will have an embedded camera feature, the market researchers say. That's up from 9 percent in 2003, according to a new market study published by Gartner. Clip-on cameras, by comparison, will account for only 1.5 percent of the market by 2006.

Slow Start

An initial shortage of chipsets and color displays put pressure on handset prices, thus dampening demand, according to Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst. But ample component supplies, coupled with a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) marketing blitz by several Europe mobile operators, have seen prices come down, making camera phones more affordable, she says.

Gartner estimates the number of mobile phones with embedded cameras or camera accessories sold in Western Europe will reach 14.8 million in 2003 and 70 million by 2006.

The camera phones caught on early and are extremely popular in Asia. They are just reaching the U.S. markets, although mobile phone services are promoting the capability heavily.

Popular Models

The market research group expects mobile phone manufactures from Asia to become a force in Western Europe, which until now has been dominated by several primarily European players, including Finland's Nokia, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and Germany's Siemens, as well as Motorola of the U.S.

Asian vendors have advanced technical expertise in the areas of color screens, digital imaging and batteries, according to Gartner.

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