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| Kodak No.1 For Digital Cameras Sales |
Kodak has annouced it has shipped more digital cameras in the United States
in 2004 than any of its Japanese rivals, retained its edge in the first quarter,
according to a market research firm.Kodak shipped 900,000 point-shoot digital cameras to domestic retailers in the January-to-March quarter - 41 per cent more than in the first quarter of 2004 - and its market share rose to 20.4 per cent from 18.1 per cent a year ago, according to IDC, based in Framingham, Mass. Canon Inc. strengthened to a second-place ranking with 850,000 shipments, up 72 per cent from a year ago. Its slice of the U.S. market surged from 14 per cent to 19.3 per cent, IDC said. Sony Corp., the perennial front-runner, dropped down to third spot with 800,000 shipments, or 18.1 per cent. Four other companies filled out the top seven slots. Olympus Corp. held onto fourth place, shipping 480,000 cameras, but its market share fell to 10.9 per cent from 12.7 per cent a year ago. Next were Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. with 7.5 per cent, Fuji Photo Film Co. with 6.8 per cent and Nikon Corp. with 5.7 per cent. In the annual digital-camera derby, Kodak chalked up its first win on home soil in 2004. It shipped 4.88 million digital cameras to domestic retailers, swelling its market share from 17.9 per cent to 21.9 per cent, IDC said. Sony was next with 4.33 million shipments, its slice of the U.S. market falling to 19.4 per cent from 21.7 per cent in 2003. Digital cameras, a novelty item in the late 1990s, began outselling film cameras in the United States in 2003. They were the most popular U.S. electronics gift in 2004, the Consumer Electronics Association said. More than 22.3 million digital cameras were shipped nationwide in 2004, up from 16.4 million in 2003, IDC analyst Christopher Chute said. In 2005, an estimated 27.3 million cameras will be shipped to U.S. retailers, he said. |
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About
From Glass Plates to Digital Images
With the slogan "you press the button, we do the rest," George Eastman in 1888 put the first simple camera into the hands of a world of consumers. In so doing, he made what had been a cumbersome and complicated process easy to use and accessible to nearly everyone.
Through the years, Kodak has led the way with an abundance of new products and processes that have made photography simpler, more useful and more enjoyable. Today, our work increasingly involves digital technology, combining the power and convenience of electronics with the quality of traditional photography to produce systems that bring levels of utility and fun to the taking, "making" and utilization of images.
What George Eastman began remains a goal of Eastman Kodak Company today, to provide convenience and quality to our customers so more and more people can experience the special wonders of photography and capture and re-live their more cherished moments.
