more on Digital Shoplifting in Japan -- The tip of the iceberg

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Alan A. Reiter" <alan.reiter () verizon net>
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2003 09:27:40 -0400
To: dave () farber net
Subject: RE: [IP] Digital Shoplifting in Japan -- The tip of the iceberg

Hi Dave,

In response to Nathan Cochrane's message about camera phones being used in
Japan to take photos of magazines, I have been evaluating the camera phone
market for years in Asia, then Europe and, recently, the U.S.  This is not
only going to be an enormous worldwide business with multiple opportunities
(hardware, software, services) but it's also going to "evolutionize" the way
we communicate.

A key point is NOT that there are millions of regular digital cameras so
what's the big deal, but that the combination of digital cameras PLUS
wireless changes the equation.  If you carry any device, it will be a phone
first (not a regular camera), so the integration of cameras in cellular
phones means there will be tens of millions (hundreds of millions?) of MORE
cameras on the streets.

The "big deal" is that when you have millions of people carrying camera
phones as a ** routine ** part of their lives -- and who can immediately
transmit moments in time --  social and business dynamics begin to change.
We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

People are using camera phones to transmit photos of "suspicious characters"
to the police.  People are sending photos of accidents to the police.
Construction workers are taking photos of construction problems and sending
them to their supervisor to get an opinion about how to proceed.  Sales
people are taking photos of point-of-purchase displays of CDs, DVDs and VHS
tapes of movies to ensure that stores have correctly followed policies about
how and when to promote the latest releases of movies.  Corporations are
banning camera phones because of fears of corporate espionage.  Health clubs
are banning camera phones in locker rooms.

 In Japan, there already are 1.3 megapixel camera phones.  Within 12 months
we might see 3 megapixel camera phones.  No more blurry photos.  (Yes, we
still have to deal with the problem of transmitting large files, but that's
another story!)

Nathan Cochrane is completely correct about publishers missing opportunities
to publicize their contents.  There will be lots of opportunities to
leverage the value and, yes, power, of instant transmission of images.  And,
don't forget that many phones also have video capabilities.

I've written extensively about the dynamics of camera phones, including --
http://reiter.weblogger.com/2003/02/13,
http://reiter.weblogger.com/2003/02/17 and
http://reiter.weblogger.com/2003/01/27.

Camera phones are more than just another wireless fad.  They will be big
business and the produce big changes.


Alan

---------------------------------
Alan A. Reiter, president
Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing consulting
E-Mail: reiter () wirelessinternet com
Phone: 1-301-951-0385
Weblog: http://reiter.weblogger.com
Web site: http://www.wirelessinternet.com



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ip () v2 listbox com [mailto:owner-ip () v2 listbox com]On Behalf
> Of Dave Farber
> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 7:29 AM
> To: ip
> Subject: [IP] Digital Shoplifting in Japan
>
>
>
> ------ Forwarded Message
> From: Nathan Cochrane <ncochrane () theage fairfax com au>
> Reply-To: ncochrane () theage fairfax com au
> Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2003 17:36:25 +1000
> To: "Dave Farber (E-mail)" <dave () farber net>
> Subject: Digital Shoplifting in Japan
>
> Hi Dave
>
> > From the "It Had to Happen Eventually" department, people are using their
> digital camera-equipped mobile phones to take happy snaps of images in
> magazines in Japan.
>
> The BBC reports bookstores are livid that people would take
> photos of their
> pictures and send them on.
>
> The BBC notes:
> The Japanese Magazine Publishers Association says the practice is
> "information theft" and it wants it stopped.
>
> It is the kind of thing that most Japanese young women wouldn't
> think twice
> about doing.
>
> They might spot a new hairstyle or a new dress in a glossy
> fashion magazine
> and they want to know what their friends think - so they take a quick snap
> with their mobile phone camera and send everybody a picture.
>
> But the publishers of those magazines feel they are being cheated out of
> valuable sales.
>
>
>
> Frankly, I don't get what the big deal is. Cameras have been attached to
> devices such as Nintendo's GameBoy for years. Cheap pen-style digital
> cameras have been around for several years and the new Canon IXUS mini
> cameras and their ilk deliver print-quality images in something not much
> bigger than a matchbox. Why is it every time there is a slightly new crimp
> in an existing technology or process, we have these Chicken Little claims?
>
> I think the publishers are missing a great opportunity to encourage people
> to publicise the contents of the magazines thereby driving sales.
>
> Is it really any different than if I look at a picture with my own,
> infinitely higher-resolution biological eye camera? I don't think so.
>
> Another typical example of corporate over-reaction that will
> drive a bigger
> wedge between them and their customers, who miss the days when "they were
> always right".
>
> MORE:
> http://bilskirnir.blogspot.com/2003_07_01_bilskirnir_archive.html#
1057217346
52407051

-
Nathan Cochrane
Deputy IT Editor
:Next:
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.next.theage.com.au


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