US : U.S. consumers will spend more than $500 million in 2013 for imaging applications on their mobile phones, according to international research firm Parks Associates, which sees this market expanding beyond photo-sharing services to personalized content management and social networking applications.

Parks Associates’ new report Mobile Imaging: Platforms, Solutions, and Services finds consumers will use their camera-equipped mobile phones for a variety of applications over the next few years and they are willing to pay for enhancements such as photo-editing capabilities, comparison shopping, and social networking services.

 

The mobile application market will benefit from improved hardware. By 2013, almost 70% of handsets sold in the U.S. will include a camera of at least two megapixels.

In addition, dramatic changes are taking place in application development and marketing. “Recent trends, including the launch of Google’s Android MarketPlace and Apple’s success with the App Store, have revived interest in the camera phone platform among carriers, handset makers, and application developers,” said Harry Wang, Director, Health and Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates.

Wang said that new revenue models, such as application a la carte purchasing and software as a service, will become the major monetization approaches, overtaking once-dominant mobile printing services. “Handset makers and mobile carriers will need to embrace a more consumer-centric business model in application development and marketing. Consumers want to do more with their phones, which makes this area fertile for service innovation.”

Mobile Imaging: Platforms, Solutions, and Services analyzes the evolution of the camera phone function and its impact on image-related applications and services on mobile handsets.

For additional information, visit http://www.parksassociates.com or contact 972-490-1113, sales@parksassociates.com.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services.  Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.