Month: December 2011

Smartphones killing demand for cameras, camcorders

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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This year, as I was sorting through pictures for my annual family calendar, I noticed something. A good portion of the pictures I was using were taken not on the brand-new camera we purchased this year, but on my smartphone.

Apparently, I`m not alone. A new study from market researcher NPD confirms that consumers are now taking more than a quarter of their photos and videos on their smartphones.

The percentage of photos taken with a smartphone (Apple’s iPhone or any other smartphone) rose to 27% from 17% last year, while the share of photos taken on any camera dropped from 52% to 44%.

Already this behavior has hurt demand for camcorders and lower-end point-and-shoot cameras. According to NPD`s Retail Tracking Service, the point-and-shoot camera market was down 17% in units and 18% in dollars for the first 11 months of this year.

Sales of pocket camcorders also fell, dropping 13% in units and 27% in dollars while traditional flash camcorder sales declined 8% in units and 10% in dollars, according to NPD.

“There is no doubt that the smartphone is becoming `good enough` much of the time; but thanks to mobile phones, more pictures are being taken than ever before,” said Liz Cutting, executive director and senior imaging analyst at NPD, in a press release.

That`s an observation that`s not likely to surprise many people who have now grown accustomed to seeing people frequently taking pictures of their dinner or documenting every event – big or small – in great detail.

“Consumers who use their mobile phones to take pictures and video were more likely to do so instead of their camera when capturing spontaneous moments, but for important events, single-purpose cameras or camcorders are still largely the device of choice.”

That may explain why there still is some growth in the camera market. Sales of cameras with a detachable lens rose 12% in units and 11% in dollars during the same 11-month period. These high-end cameras cost an average of USD 863.

Also popular were point-and-shoot cameras with optical zooms of 10-times or greater, which grew by 16% in units and 10% in dollars. Cameras in this category cost an average of USD 247.

These types of cameras are likely to continue to have their supporters, as photography is a popular hobby. However, with smartphone cameras getting better and better, consumers will rely on them more and more.

A lot of that has to do with convenience. Smartphones make it easier to share photos with family and friends. A few clicks and the image is posted to Facebook, emailed off to a grandparent, or published in a blog. And smartphone apps like Hipstamatic make it fun and easy to tinker with special effects on the image.

Also, smartphones are always in your pocket, allowing you to snap when the moment is right. Because you never know when you`re going to see a rainbow, stumble on a funny sign or see a FedEx guy drop your package over your fence.

Questions? Comments? Email us at consumernation@cnbc.com. Follow Christina Cheddar Berk on Twitter @ccheddarberk.

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Five things investors have to worry about in 2012

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Investors can blame Europe for choking off stock market gains in 2011, but there

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Chart analysis had 70% strike rate this year

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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This time of the year is usually the time to look forward with forecasts for the next year. For us, it’s time to look back. Trading the market is a hazardous business. It`s based on analysis of the market and the assessment of probability outcomes.

This is the most important difference between forecasting and prediction. Forecasting uses the higher probability situation in an attempt to project future price action and acts in anticipation of this. When we see the signal we can forecast the action for a selected period of time.

Prediction carries a high level of certainty about the occurrence of events at a specific time. This leaves little room for probability, although there are times when such predictions match the co-incident events.

So when we look back from December 2010 to the end of November 2011 we ask the question; How did we do? What is the record of success and failure?

We wrote 52 columns during this period. Of those, five columns were about general issues such as how to draw accurate trend lines and did not involve any outlooks, chart analysis or price targets. This leaves 47 columns where the analysis identified the higher probability outcomes and provided targets.

Our success rate on these calls – where the index or price moved to reach the targets identified in the article – was 70.29 percent. Sometimes targets were exceeded. Fund managers feel very happy if they can get around 55 percent correct calls. Our rate of 70.29 percent is above industry standard and is around the same level as our 10-year average in our personal trading.

The best calls were two times with the Dow, the Sensex and two times with the euro/dollar. The first call with the Dow was the identification of the head and shoulder pattern in June. The fall in the Dow achieved and exceeded the initial downside targets prior to developing a rebound.

The second call on the Dow was the conditions of the L-shaped recovery and the trigger rises that identified the genuine breakout.

The Sensex call was the identification of the long term down sloping triangle, both as a bearish factor and in terms of setting downside targets. These targets are being achieved.

The volatility on the euro/dollar chart makes analysis difficult. We called the $1.49 May high. We also called the current downtrend lows. This analysis was based on the chart pattern developments.

The worst calls – the ones where the market moved in the lower probability outcomes, was our calls for an up trend continuation with gold. The change in margin requirements a few days after the column was posted created a price plunge.

It is obviously better to get as high a percentage of calls correct as possible. However, this is not where trading success is found. Trading success comes from three factors. The first is to structure the analysis so you can recognize very quickly where the outcome is at the lower end of the probability scale. The second factor is developing the discipline to act quickly on stop loss. The third factor is the ability to quickly apply new analysis to recognize the changed circumstances.

Daryl Guppy is a trader and author of Trend Trading, The 36 Strategies of the Chinese for Financial Traders –www.guppytraders.com . He is a regular guest on CNBC`s Asia Squawk Box. He is a speaker at trading conferences in China, Asia, Australia and Europe.

If you would like Daryl to chart a specific stock, commodity or currency, please write to us at ChartingAsia@cnbc.com. We welcome all questions, comments and requests.

CNBC assumes no responsibility for any losses, damages or liability whatsoever suffered or incurred by any person, resulting from or attributable to the use of the information published on this site. User is using this information at his/her sole risk.

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Roubini: Eurozone ‘in denial,’ US postpones reforms

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Noted economist Nouriel Roubini, credited for predicted the financial crisis, made a plea to policymakers to take tough action needed to address current economic problems, in an article published on the Financial Times website.

“The Eurozone has been in denial of the fact that some of its member states are insolvent, as well as unable to survive and grow in a monetary union,” he wrote.

In the US, fiscal consolidation was postponed and other structural reforms – such as investment in infrastructure, skills, and education, as well as changes to energy policy, all measures needed to restore growth – were also postponed, Roubini wrote.

As for China, it has “persisted in its weak currency, to support its export and investment-led growth model where savings are too high and consumption too low,” the economist, dubbed by some in the media as Dr. Doom for his gloomy scenarios, added.

On Tuesday, European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio told CNBC in an interview that a break-up of the euro was “unthinkable” and “absurd.”

But Roubini warned that political considerations, which prevent leaders from taking tough decisions, yielding results only in the medium term, could lead to currency and trade wars.

“It will become clear in 2012 that this game of `kicking the can down the road` is a zero-sum game,” he wrote.

Any country would rather have a weak currency to boost its exports to restore growth, and currency tensions will make the situation worse next year, when a combination of market pressures and conflicting political constrains “will make it more difficult to kick the can down the road,” Roubini predicted.

“By 2013 at the latest, but possibly already in 2012, a perfect storm of a double-dip recession in the U.S., a disorderly scenario in the euro zone and a hard landing in China could materialize,” he wrote.

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Economy a ‘hostage’ to politicians in 2012: Strategist

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The year ahead will see slow global economic growth combined with political uncertainty to create to a similar outlook for

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow