Despite the speculation that an uptick in camera phone usage could overtake digital still cameras for general picture taking, sharing, and printing, a new study from Weymouth, Mass.-based InfoTrends, "U.S. Camera Phone End-User Survey Research: 2008," indicates that this is not the case. While today's consumers are taking more pictures with their camera phones, the research in this study confirms that increased use of camera phones will not cannibalize digital camera ownership and use.

  InfoTrends Senior Research Analyst Carrie Sylvester commented, "The camera phone is a complimentary product to the digital still camera, not a competitive one. In fact, camera phones have the potential to encourage consumers to engage in more and different types of photography without detracting from their use of other cameras."

  An overwhelming majority of survey respondents who own both a digital still camera and a camera phone reported that their digital camera usage (pictures taken, saved, and printed) has stayed the same or increased since they acquired a camera phone. Additionally, more than 60 percent of the respondents who own a camera phone but not a digital camera reported that owning the camera phone has had no effect on their plans to purchase a digital camera. A little more than a quarter of respondents said they plan to buy a digital camera sooner because of their camera phone experience, while only 15 percent indicated having the camera phone has caused them to delay the purchase of a digital camera.