and if true its a scandal. but it says so at media guardian.
[you might have to log in… so here’s the headline and then some:]
Only three in 100 picture message
[Owen GibsonTuesday September 21, 2004]
Mobile camera phones are becoming an increasingly common sight at sporting events, pop concerts and bars. But new figures released today will make grim reading for the networks that subsidise them because users are turning their backs on picture messaging.
Inspired by lavish marketing campaigns, such as Vodafone’s David Beckham ads, the number of mobile camera phone users has more than doubled in the past year.But the research shows that the frequency with which camera phone owners are sending picture messages is decreasing as the overall user base grows. A year ago 8% of early adopters were sending a photo message once a day, which has dropped to 3%.
More than one in three users admit to never using their camera-enabled phone to send pictures, up from a quarter a year ago.
The average number of photo messages sent per user per month has dropped from 6.1 to 3.7, although the decrease can be partly explained by the fact that more recent converts are as unlikely to be enthusiastic as early adopters.
Figures from Continental Research show that there are now more than 7.5 million handsets in circulation capable of taking pictures, up from 3 million a year ago.