Consumer Electronics
Trends for the Worldwide Mobile Phone Camera Module Market and Supply Chain
June 08, 2007 / Jessica Hsu
15 Page, Topical Report
US$1,620 (Single User License)

Abstract

CCM (Compact Camera Module) shipment volume has continued to grow, fueled by increased shipments of camera phones and increased use of video applications. As the market expansion has led to increasingly stringent price pressure, and prices per pixel continue to fall. In response, makers have begun to adopt different lens or low-priced sensors. Among new camera phones released by the world's five leading mobile phone makers, share of 2M or higher models has significantly increased, while 1.3M models are being phased out. Built-in video camera modules are also becoming more common, and brand-name vendors are beginning to market high-resolution products in the emerging markets. This report will examine the camera phone deployment of brand-name vendors as well as the current status of CCM makers.
  •  List of Topics
  •  List of Figures
  •  List of Tables


Increased Share of Camera Phones with Built-in Video Modules

Of the new camera phone models released in 2007 by the world's five leading vendors, nearly 70% were models with 2M or higher resolution (2M accounted for 52.1%, 3M and 5M together for 17.5%). Except for a number of VGA products, 2M has already become the main stream specifications; Sony Ericsson did not even release any new 1.3M models.

Some brands are also actively promoting 2M and higher resolution camera phones in emerging markets like India where digital cameras are not yet widespread, in an attempt to win over consumers who might otherwise purchase value-line models.

Mobile phone vendors' 3M camera phones all offer auto focus functions, including the Nokia E90 and N93i, and Sony Ericsson K810, P1, and T650.

As camera phones image quality continues to improve, the use of video camera modules is becoming more common as well. Of the new models released by the world's top five vendors during the first five months of 2007, 30% had built-in video camera modules, and nearly half of Nokia new models come with built-in video cameras.

Increasing use of video camera modules will help the CCM market grow. Vendors choose different CCM suppliers for different imaging functions: for example the main lens on Nokia's N95 is supplied by Toshiba, while the video camera lens is supplied by ST. As Nokia demands that its camera modules comply with SMIA (Standard Mobile Imaging Architecture) standards, it is able to insure that components from different suppliers work properly together.

As VGA product prices fall and approach CIF product prices, some CIF module makers are being forced out of the market, and video camera modules are beginning to use VGA products.

CCM Makers Aggressively Expanding New Applications

The global CCM market is still developing, but growth is slowing and CCM makers' orders are concentrating on the world's top-five brands, leading to increased industry concentration. Companies are turning to products other than mobile phones to expand their market and diversify their customer base.

CCMs are used in mobile phones, computers, security systems, telematics, toys, and medical devices, with mobile phones accounting for 70% - 75% of the total CCM Shipment. The spread of broadband network, video conferencing, and instant messaging has spurred growth in webcam applications.

Webcam applications can be divided into desktop PC cameras and notebook cameras. The desktop PC camera market is already mature and is dominated by Logitech and certain Chinese companies. The notebook PC camera market continues to grow as notebook PC makers make increased use of built-in cameras.

 

Figure 4

Shipment Volume of Notebook PCs with Built-in Camera Modules, 2005 - 2008

Source: MIC, August 2007

 

90% of the world's notebook PCs are manufactured by Taiwanese companies, so Taiwanese CCM makers including Chicony, Acme System Technologies, and LiteOn have been eager to form partnerships with notebook PC makers. Large international companies like STMicro have also entered the market. Desktop PC cameras are easier to manufacture due to their size; however, notebook PC cameras must be manufactured to fit the notebook, raising issues not only of size and shape, but energy consumption, system integration, and heat dissipation. Image processing in mobile phone CCMs is usually done by the phone's internal Baseband IC or ISP. Image processing of notebook PC camera modules is done by the module's own backend IC. With a higher screen resolution, notebook PCs usually require higher image quality. For these reasons CCM makers have to expend more effort on notebook PC cameras.

Appendix

List of Companies

Acme System Technologies

 

嘉田

Altus

 

揚信

Amkor

 

 

Chicony

 

群光

Flextronics

 

 

GSMA

 

 

Hong Hai

 

鴻海

LG

 

 

LiteOn

 

光寶

Mitsumi

 

 

Motorola

 

 

Nokia

 

 

OV

 

 

Premier

 

 

Samsung

 

 

Sharp

 

 

Sony Ericsson

 

 

ST

 

 

STMicro

 

 

Toshiba

 

 

VisEra

 

采鈺

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