• 03-14-2005, 04:13 PM
    Photo-John
    Kodak on Mobile Digital Imaging - Press Release
    Kodak Showcases Convergence of Digital Imaging and Mobile Lifestyles at CTIA Wireless Conference; CEO Dan Carp Delivers Keynote Address to the Wireless Industry

    NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2005--Highlighting its leadership role in mobile imaging markets around the globe, Eastman Kodak Company will showcase a range of products and services at the wireless industry's largest international tradeshow, the 2005 Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) wireless conference starting today in New Orleans (Booth #2313; Hall C).


    Reflecting Kodak's commitment to the wireless industry, Kodak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel A. Carp, will deliver the opening keynote address this morning (9:00 - 10:30 a.m.) to share the company's vision for anytime, anywhere access to pictures. With industry estimates showing that somewhere between 25 to 68 billion images will be captured with camera phones this year, Carp will call upon network operators, handset manufacturers and content and software developers to work together to make mobile imaging easy and universal for consumers.

    "This convergence of digital imaging and wireless technologies provides a tremendous opportunity for all involved," Carp said. "As part of our digital growth strategy, Kodak is leading the way by making mobile imaging accessible to millions of people around the world, enabling consumers to easily view, share and print pictures anytime, anywhere. But making photography ubiquitous requires the work of all industry participants, and Kodak is calling on the industry's leaders to band together for the benefit of the consumer and the market as a whole."

    The most recent example of the company's vision of anytime, anywhere picturing sharing is the new KODAK EASYSHARE-ONE zoom digital camera, the world's first Wi-Fi consumer camera. Noted for its award-winning innovation, the camera combines the freedom of wireless and the power of digital picture-taking into a single product, demonstrating the next wave in picture viewing, printing, and sharing. Available this summer, the KODAK EASYSHARE-ONE incorporates many of the sharing capabilities of a mobile phone in a digital still camera.

    While consumers are utilizing MMS (Multi Media Messaging) capabilities, specifically taking and sending pictures, the reality today is that the camera phone experience is still less than satisfying. Sixty percent of consumers rarely or never upload pictures to a computer while seventy percent rarely or never share photos between phones (Mintel Survey).

    "This is an overall industry challenge, and Kodak believes that the solution to dramatically changing those percentages is to make the total imaging experience easy to use, not simply the handset experience, but the total photographic approach," said Carp. "Kodak's EasyShare system has set the standard for ease of use in today's consumer digital imaging environment as well as for the future of mobile imaging."

    Kodak introduced its first generation of wireless products and services in 2003 in the United States with the launch of the KODAK Mobile Service. Kodak established partnerships with leading mobile phone manufacturers and operators such as Nokia, Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless, to promote these products and services. Subscribers to KODAK Mobile Service have anytime, anywhere access to their digital photos and phone-captured video, directly from their handsets or PCs. KODAK Mobile Service launched in 2004 in Europe and Australia, and expanded services to make it easier for people to view, share and print pictures instantly from their mobile phone and adding mobile phone "wallpaper" service and to allow users to send any picture from their online Kodak account over a cellular network to their mobile device. In addition, consumers are able to beam images captured with their mobile phone cameras to KODAK Picture Maker kiosks via infrared and BLUETOOTH(R) wireless transfer technologies, and then print real KODAK pictures in seconds.

    Kodak introduced the KODAK EASYSHARE Printer Dock Plus with WiFi earlier this year, allowing wireless printing at home from a variety of mobile phone cameras, PDAs, and other wireless-enabled devices. The Printer Dock Plus with WiFi has been chosen as a finalist for CTIA's 2005 Wireless Widgets Showcase. Kodak continues to develop relationships with leading mobile operators and handset manufacturers across the globe to develop and market mobile imaging services over wireless networks. Last month, Kodak announced partnerships with leading European operators T-Mobile, SFR and O2 to provide the Kodak Mobile Service through jointly branded offerings.

    "Kodak is helping to advance applications for rapid wireless technology developments," Carp said. "In doing so, we're moving picture viewing and sharing from an occasional experience to an 'always on' lifestyle experience-- giving consumers the ability to be connected to people and pictures regardless of place or time," said Carp.

    For more information, please visit www.kodak.com