Camera phones are a rapidly growing product. Many genealogists are wondering how they can use them—for research, and for connecting with their families. They also wonder whether they can replace the digital camera, PDA, and cell phone they are carrying around already.

In the fall of 2002, camera phones appeared in the United States. Since that time, there have been three major changes—the price has dropped, the resolution has improved, and the number of people with them has grown.

I am imagining a day when my phone, Palm Pilot, and digital camera are all one device, smaller than a cigarette pack. It will fit easily into my pocket, take high-quality photos, have an expansion slot, and work just like the PDA that I’m used to. I will be able to send my photos straight to Reuters wirelessly, and exchange information with my computer back home.

That day isn’t here, but it’s coming. Right now, I have a Sony Ericsson T616 cell phone, and I can take color pictures that are 288x352 pixels, and I can sync my contacts and appointments with Outlook. I can send photos as e-mail attachments—when my phone can find the network—and exchange information with my laptop via Bluetooth.

The future is coming, but it ain’t here yet.

What's the Excitement About?
Whole factories have been given over to the process of making cell phones with tiny cameras in them. They caught on in Japan in 2002, and in the U.S. in 2003. Studies estimate that one-quarter of the cell phones sold globally in 2004 will be camera phones, reaching close to 150 million units. This market is expected to grow at 55 percent (no, that’s not a typo, two fives) per year and reach 680 million units by 2008.

It’s projected that in 2004, there will be about 35 million digital cameras sold, 60 million film cameras (including the “single use cameras”), and that’s less than the number of camera phones to be sold—they are already surpassing other kinds of camera sales combined, worldwide.

The Veteran’s Administration is working with Microsoft to use the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone in a study to allow diabetic patients to report vital signs to VA physicians daily.

Last July, a boy in Munich used his camera phone to snap a picture of the man trying to lure him into a car, and then got a shot of the license plate for good measure.

A Chicago painting crew is outfitted with camera phones and when the job is finished, a photo is taken and sent back to the office. This leads to a bill and a record that the job was completed.

A plant services company uses picture phones to get advice from horticulturists about how to treat the plants in commercial office buildings.

A remodeling company uses them to send photos of incorrect shipments to vendors.

Women in clothing stores are snapping pictures to get immediate feedback from friends.

People hold them up instead of lighters, and snap away at concerts. They take pictures of their appliances and send them to repairmen so the right parts can be brought on the first trip. Real estate agents are driving out to houses and sending photos to prospective buyers to speed up the flow of information in that business. Welsh firemen are sending photos of injuries to doctors so that they will be ready for the patient when the ambulance arrives.

Toni&Guy, the hair salon, lets you download hairstyles to your phone so you can talk to family and friends before your appointment.

Along with the good, also comes the bad. At picturephoning.com, there is a 2003 “year in review” article about other uses for these toys. They also refer to this activity as MMS, or “mobile multimedia services.” Beyond the porn, paparazzi, and news usage, beyond the secret pictures in public restrooms, people are taking pictures of shoppers using credit cards. A quick shot of the card and expiration date will enhance the identity theft industry. If someone is holding up a cell phone near the checkout counter, give them “The Look” and guard your card.

Increasing Resolution
My camera tops out at 288x352 pixels. Current models with VGA resolution (640x480) are easy to find. Some have a megapixel—200x800 dots. They are great for sharing, for instant gratification—and the quality is coming. New cameras announced in Japan have 2 megapixels, flash units, and auto-focus lenses.

CCD vs. CMOS
If you don’t know a CMOS from a CCD, join the crowd. CMOS stands for “complementary metal oxide semiconductor” and CCD for “charge coupled device,” but that’s not important. Both of them work, better in some phone models than others. What does this mean to you? It means that you don’t want to ask whether the phone they’re selling has CMOS or CCDs. It means that you want to ask whether the phone they’re selling takes pictures that you like.

Expansion Is Important
While my phone has a Bluetooth protocol to connect to the computer, some phones now have expansion slots. Camera phones with Secure Digital expansion slots make the transfer of images to computers simple.

It’s not all good news. Today, most of the camera phone users are young, so the small displays aren’t a problem. As these babies go mainstream, some of us who are over 50 will want a bigger display.

So Are They Useful for Family History?
Since photos are a big part of family history, we may be tempted to use camera phones for taking pictures of heirlooms, relatives, and places. A camera phone will let you share those things more quickly with your families. However, the resolution, for the most part, isn’t what you’d need to copy documents and photographs well and is even iffy for larger items. And how immediate does the communication need to be?

I mean, could it wait until you have time to download the image from your digital camera to your computer and e-mail it? Most of family history is about people who are long gone, we’ve been searching for them for years, and our families think we’re crazy for being excited about genealogy anyway. More immediacy? If you find a need for it, let me know.

What Can You Shoot?
I’ve put some examples from my camera on the RootsWorks site. I don’t have enough resolution to photograph documents, but I can take pictures of people and places. What I get is the ability to shoot a quick picture and send it to someone from anywhere you have signal.

Think about It
If a camera phone is $100, and a 2-megapixel digital camera is $200, you ought to think about whether you want to buy a phone with a cheap camera, or get a free phone and buy a good camera.

More Information
For links and more information about camera phones, please see the RootsWorks site at www.rootsworks.com/camphones. If you want to discuss your phone-y challenges, please drop by the RootsWorks Forums at www.rootsworks.com/forums. Registration is free, and I'd be interested to know what kinds of issues you are facing.