IDC to raise digital camera sales forecast
Shipments of digital cameras jumped 22 percent in the second quarter compared with the year earlier, and growth for coming months likely will outpace earlier expectations, analyst firm IDC said Thursday.
"IDC expects to raise its forecast for the CY2007 year due to this continued, stronger-than-expected growth," analyst Christopher Chute said in a statement.
Consumers are replacing earlier cameras with new models that stabilize images to counteract camera shake, but more importantly, they're also responding to lower prices, he said.
Canon remained the No. 1 seller, with 26 percent of shipments in the second quarter. Sony was No. 2 with 18 percent share and Kodak No. 3 with 12 percent. Samsung "rocketed to the No. 4 position" with 11 percent, bumping Nikon and others. Nikon, though, "continues to do very well with digital SLRs," Chute said.
Although Kodak took the No. 3 spot, its shipments declined 15 percent, IDC said.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
