It seems that most people have cell phones these days. There are WAP-enabled, Bluetooth and infrared-based models, but regardless of the style, we've all got 'em. Not convinced? Try a little experiment and see for yourself:



Stand in a shopping mall, on a city street corner or in any other crowded public place, and arrange for a friend to call you. As your cell phone rings, take a look around to see how many other people are reaching to check their own phones.

It's hardly surprising that cell phones have caught on like wildfire in the bushes. These modern wonders offer mobile communication no matter where you are. Now, camera phones are the latest crazes igniting the market.

Modern cell phones allow users to make calls, take calls, instantly send and receive e-mail and text messages, play games, surf the Internet and organize their lives. Best of all, these tasks can be performed while the user is at home, at work, on the bus, in a restaurant or virtually anywhere else. Now, there's yet another benefit for cell phone users: the ability to take photographs using their cellular handsets. Cellular users are so excited at the prospect of taking digital photographs with their cell phones that they're quickly hanging up their old handsets in favor of new camera phones.

Several years before North Americans saw the camera phone, the technology was introduced to the Japanese market. Asian cell phone users quickly took to these amazing gadgets, and camera phones hit North American shores a few years later. Even though they didn't catch on as quickly, the phones were widely marketed in the United States and eventually became popular. Once North American consumers began to realize how convenient it could be to have a cell phone combined with a camera, popularity began to climb. It's now predicted that camera phones may become the most popular consumer devices in history.

A research firm called IDC suggested that more than 80 million camera cell phones have been sold across the world. Industry reports also indicate that camera phones comprised 12% of the total number of cell phones sold in 2003. Those numbers are expected to quickly rise.

Some people wonder if it isn't just as easy to carry a cellular phone and a camera. The answers lie in life's fleeting moments. That once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when you run into a famous rock star at a roadside diner, or see a majestic sunset as you stroll along the coast. Those moments are certainly lost forever if your camera is locked in your car. With a camera phone, however, you can capture those moments and turn them into memories to last a lifetime. Best of all, you can use your cell phone to save and even email the photos to all of your friends.

The convenience of having a camera incorporated into a cell phone may seem excessive, but you never know when life will hand you a perfect moment. And when it happens, that's one call you don't want to miss.