Printer Friendly
The Free Library
19,595,263 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

America Online's Digital Pictures Survey Finds That Instant Gratification Factor Tops List of What Consumers Love Most about Digital Photography.


Business Editors

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004

America Online See AOL. , Inc.


    The Ability to See Images Instantly, Print Images Whenever They
   Want and Share Images Easily With Friends and Family Are Favorite
Benefits; Number One Method For Sharing Digital Photos Today is Online

   Digital Cameras Beat Out Sunscreen, a Good Book and Video Cameras
as the Top Item Survey Respondents Must Have When Leaving for Vacation


It's not the hottest page-turner or coolest PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM).  that most vacationers will be packing for their summer vacation Summer vacation (also called summer holidays or summer break) is a vacation in the summertime between school years in which students are off for 3 months, depending on the country and district.  this year. According to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.

2. In keeping with: according to instructions.

3.
 America Online's Digital Pictures Survey of digital camera owners, more than one-half of the respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. , 54%, won't leave for vacation without this hot little item: their digital camera. The choice ranked significantly higher than sunscreen sunscreen /sun·screen/ (-skren) a substance applied to the skin to protect it from the effects of the sun's rays.

sun·screen
n.
, a good book, a video camera, an address book, a digital music player Hardware or software that plays audio files encoded in MP3, AAC, WMA or other audio formats. There are several software-based music players that play audio files in a desktop or laptop computer, including iTunes, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player.  and PDA device.

The survey, which was conducted for AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services.  by Digital Marketing Services (DMS (1) (Document Management System) See document management.

(2) (Defense Messaging System) An X.500-compliant messaging system developed by the U.S. Dept. of Defense.
), uncovered Uncovered may refer to:
  • something "not covered"
  • Uncovered (Sirsy)
 additional findings and insights into consumer digital camera habits, including reasons for going digital, frequency of use and favorite online photo activities. According to the survey, the most popular benefit of going digital is the instant gratification GRATIFICATION. A reward given voluntarily for some service or benefit rendered, without being requested so to do, either expressly or by implication.  of seeing an image right away. Thirty-two percent of respondents identified this as what they like most about their digital camera. The ability to print images whenever they want follows at 19% while the ability to share images easily rounds out the top three at 17%. The survey also found that overwhelmingly the preferred way to share these memorable photos with family and friends is online via e-mail. More than 70% of respondents share images this way.

"For more and more consumers, digital cameras are a must-have item that they simply can't leave home without," said Jeff Hooker Jeff Hooker is a retired U.S. soccer forward who currently coaches the University of Denver women's soccer team.

Hooker attended Walnut High School in Walnut, California where he played on the school’s boys soccer team.
, Director of the You've Got Pictures service at America Online. "Digital photography is all about instant gratification: the majority of consumers buy digital cameras because they want the ability to see an image as soon as they shoot it, easily share it with others, and increasingly they want to print these images whenever they want."

Mr. Hooker added: "The survey results underscore The underscore character (_) is often used to make file, field and variable names more readable when blank spaces are not allowed. For example, NOVEL_1A.DOC, FIRST_NAME and Start_Routine.

(character) underscore - _, ASCII 95.
 many of the trends we're seeing among our members and prove that for an online photo service to be truly valuable today it needs to offer everything people need to make the most of their picture-taking experience - from multiple options to share and print pictures to unlimited storage and the ability to access their stored albums from any computer."

America Online's Digital Photos Survey also uncovered other key findings regarding consumer digital camera use, photo habits and changing attitudes about digital cameras including:

Digital Cameras Rule!

- Close to one-third, 31%, of younger respondents (18-49), say they take pictures several times a week; however, more than 80% of all respondents say they take pictures at least once a month.

- Among those respondents with multiple cameras, digital film cameras are used most often than other types of cameras. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they use their digital film camera regularly or occasionally.

- About one-fourth of those surveyed, 29%, received their digital camera as a gift; the next biggest reason for purchasing a digital camera was an upcoming vacation.

- Over a quarter of respondents, 27%, say they take photos with their digital cameras 100% of the time while a third say they take pictures with their digital cameras most of the time.

- More than half of those surveyed, 64%, believe it is easier to use a digital camera now than in the last few years. In addition, 74% of those surveyed believe that the picture quality has improved.

Today's Digital Dark Room: Home

- Approximately 70% of those surveyed use a home printer to print their pictures.

- The ability to print pictures whenever they want is the second most popular feature of digital cameras (right behind the instant gratification factor of seeing an image right away).

- Thirty percent of those surveyed print their pictures at least once a week, while 42% print them at least once a month.

Digital Photos in the Broadband broadband

Term describing the radiation from a source that produces a broad, continuous spectrum of frequencies (contrasted with a laser, which produces a single frequency or very narrow range of frequencies).
 Media Era

- More than 70% of those surveyed share their pictures via e-mail and about one-fifth of respondents also share them via instant messages. Sharing images via instant message is particularly popular with younger respondents. Close to one third, 29%, of respondents aged 18 to 34, IM photos to friends and family.

- The two top digital media activities digital camera users do with their photos are creating screensavers on their PC, 37%, and creating personal photo albums, 34%.

- Other emerging popular activities include burning digital photo albums on CDs, 29%, creating digital slide shows, 23%, and posting pictures on online auction sites, 21%.

- Younger respondents (18-34) also indicated particular interest in using their digital pictures to customize screensavers for their mobile phone and posting pictures on online dating services A Net dating service, also known as online dating or Internet dating, is an example of a dating system and allows individuals, couples and groups to meet online and possibly develop a romantic or sexual relationship. . Close to one in ten respondents between the age of 18 and 34 identified these two activities as some of the things they do with digital photos.

Picture Storage Made Simple

- In terms of storage, 45% keep all their digital pictures on their computers' hard drive, 33% store them on other digital media, and 12% print them and organize them in a photo album.

- About 30% of respondents upload See download.

upload - /uhp'lohd/ To transfer programs or data over a digital communications link from a smaller or peripheral "client" system to a larger or central "host" one.

Opposite: download.
 pictures from their camera at least once a week, while 39% upload them about once a month.

Summer 2004: Time for Family and Vacations

- Over 70% of those surveyed say they will likely photograph family this summer.

- Over one-third of respondents, 36%, say that vacations are their favorite occasion to use their digital cameras.

- Beyond using their digital camera to capture memorable moments with family members and friends, the next most popular reason people take photographs is for a holiday card/invitation (online and printed), 34%, followed by tasks specific for their work/business, 30%, items to post on an online auction, 30%, archiving valuable/irreplaceable items in their home, 26%, and for a school project, 19%.

Today AOL also announced the availability of a new Home Printing feature as a part of its You've Got Pictures(R) online photo service. (See accompanying press release: "America Online's You've Got Pictures Service Introduces New Home Printing Feature")

Methodology

This survey was conducted from April 8 through April 12, 2004, through OpinionPlace, an online research site operated by DMS. OpinionPlace utilizes real-time, randomized ran·dom·ize  
tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es
To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment.
 assignment of respondents to surveys based on a scientifically proven process. A total of 511 respondents were interviewed. The screening qualifications for this study were males and females who personally own and use a digital camera.

About the You've Got Pictures Service

AOL's You've Got Pictures service is a full-featured online photo service for digital and film cameras that offers users easy-to-use options for storing, organizing, printing, accessing and sharing their photos. The service is available at no additional charge as a benefit for AOL and AOL for Broadband members. Once photos are stored and organized on the You've Got Pictures service, users can access their photos and albums from any computer through the AOL.com(R) Web site and safely share favorite pictures with anyone on the Internet without having to download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer.  attachments. Other key features of the You've Got Pictures service include: unlimited photo storage; an integrated Picture Finder; easy one-click picture editing; the ability to create personal screensavers and slide shows; built-in home printing features; and more. More information on the You've Got Pictures service can be found at AOL(R) Keyword: Pictures.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary

A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock.

Notes:
In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners.
 of subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia Dulles, Virginia is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Loudoun County, Virginia, part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. The headquarters of AOL, Orbital Sciences Corporation and ODIN technologies and the former headquarters of MCI Inc. are located in Dulles. , America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:May 11, 2004
Words:1272
Previous Article:Research and Markets: Global Waste Management Market Report 2004: Global Generation of Municipal Waste Estimated to Rise by 31.1% Between 2004-2008.
Next Article:Concord Camera Corp. Updates Guidance for Fiscal 2004 Third Quarter.
Topics:



Related Articles
Corbis and AltaVista Launch the World's Largest Consumer Online Picture Search.
Kodak Makes Patented Online Photo-Sharing Technologies Available to Market.
America Online and Kodak Launch Enhanced You've Got Pictures Service For AOL Members.
America Online Announces Top Teen Wired Cities in America.
Valentine, Schmalentine! AOL Names the 2003 "10 Best Cities for Singles"; Cities in the Midwest Capture the Singleton Throne.
AOL Announces New Animated SuperBuddy Icons; Special Cast of Buddy Icon Characters Available to AOL Members This Summer in AOL 9.0 Optimized.
America Online Members Capture the Spirit of America - in Pictures.
America Online's You've Got Pictures Service Introduces New Home Printing Feature.
Best Buy Provides Digital Point-and-Shoot Pointers in Time for Summer Photo Season.
America Online Launches Update to the AOL Instant Messenger Service That Includes Easy Picture Sharing and Increased Personalization.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles