Olympus to make camera-phones? Lumixphone coming in February.
If mirrorless is eroding the DSLR market share, camera-phones are eroding the compact camera market. So it comes with no surprise that Olympus will buy the ITX phone corporation:
“TOKYO (Nikkei)–Olympus Corp. (7733) said Friday that it will launch a tender offer for ITX Corp. (2725) to turn the cellular phone sales unit into a wholly owned subsidiary. Olympus currently holds an 82.07% stake in ITX. The cost of acquiring the ITX shares that it does not own will likely come to about 7 billion yen. The tender offer will begin Thursday and end Dec. 27. The offering price is set at 60,500 yen a share, which translates to a roughly 34% premium over ITX stock’s closing price on Friday.”
Just a speculation: Would you like if future PEN cameras would be able to connect (via mobile Internet) to your social network to instantly share pictures? I know Sony and Samsung are working on that and thisould be another reason why Olympus is acquiring the ITX shares.
P.S.: The Panasonic LUMIX Phone will be available next February in Japan (Akihabaranews)
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Recent comments
- Comment from LG L-03C, otro móvil-cámara en ALTFoto (Actualidad): [...] porque si es así las grandes firm...
Comment from Miroslav: +1
Hopefully Panasonic and maybe Olym...
Comment from cL: +1
Though keep in mind, the tender of...
Comment from bilgy_no1: low and mid tier 4/3 dslr's will be repl...
Adrian Lewis
2 years ago |I’d like Olympus to take the folded zoom optics from their compact cameras and put it into a phone like the HTC Desire HD.
Even better, a folded zoom based on a 1.8″ sensor (c.f. the KM X1).
Best of all put it into an IP67-class ruggedized casing like the Motorola DEFY (or Sagem’s phones).
Smartphone & waterproof camera all-in-one!
bilgy_no1
2 years ago |What I would like Olympus and Panasonic to do is to fully integrate an open OS (such as Android)in their (future) camera’s and phones, combined with touch screen interface and fully customisable interface and functionality.
As to the news item, smart move by Olympus if they do embrace the digital convergence. Compact digicams will soon be obsolete, except for some higher end models (long zoom range, more controls etc). Large sensor cameras will keep their place for better IQ, DOF control, creative lens use etc.
Tom
2 years ago |Good Lord, how small does Olympus want to go with their cameras?? As if micro 4/3rds wasn’t silly enough ::bleh!::
Mashokash
2 years ago |Interestingly, Panasonic is a founding member of a consortium that aims at developing an open linux-based mobile OS. But it seems it’s only in Japan so far.
http://www.limofoundation.org/
Nostalgico
2 years ago |Remember when camera companies made cameras?
Those were some good times.
Chow
2 years ago |I would love a phone that makes pics which are on par with the better p&s cams.. For serious photography I would always use my 5D MKII but for snapshots to put immediately on flickr or facebook a good camphone would be perfect.. Especially when the IQ is good enough to make an occasional print..
Miroslav
2 years ago |+1
Hopefully Panasonic and maybe Olympus will not only put the brand from their compacts on the phone ( like Sony ), but the actual technology used in compacts as well.
I don’t care about instant posting of images, I care about carrying less and that’s why a good camera in a phone is important to me.
Yugoslaw
2 years ago |Bullshit, i hate this socialnetwork thing. It is good to stay in touch with friend or family, which is far away. But i prefere face-to-face conversation. I DO NOT want social network everywhere.
I want a decent camera, not to big, nit to small. With great lenses for a reasonable price. Olympus seems to be lost. They have no direction after 43 is gone and Panasonic fooled/tricked them with the sensor.
I would not suprise me if Olympus sacrisfy again there camera for another
OM – PEN – 43 – m43 – toyishPhoneCam tPC
I will use my E420 with 12-60 anf 50-200 till the camera breaks. Than i will chose anothere manufactory. Maybe Fuji will build a interchangeable X100
bruce
2 years ago |you can add to the olympus list of shame the Olympus Flex, (where they abandoned medium format) and the Olympus Ace… (another abandoned lens mount)
bilgy_no1
2 years ago |low and mid tier 4/3 dslr’s will be replaced by a m4/3 model that will likely allow for fast focus of existing lenses. Wait a few more months…
If not, send me your lenses…
frosti7
2 years ago |I cant believe it!
Olympus copy’s everything that panasonic does!
Person
2 years ago |They need to or they’ll get eaten alive.
Panasonic is making a smart move. Low end point and shoots are over!
Ranger 9
2 years ago |The only way I would like this is if their phone-plus-camera could work with my existing phone carrier account. I’ve already got too many gadgets that have their own separate phone numbers and carrier accounts: home phone, cell phone, iPad, Whistle account, Google Voice account, etc. All this stuff ought to be integrated, and Olympus buying a cell-phone sales outfit isn’t going to be enough to do that.
Greg
2 years ago |It’s like they’re trying to convince their customers that the market they’re in doesn’t exist…
napalm
2 years ago |my prediction is… people here will take this SPECULATION into context and once again blame and flame Olympus for something they havent done yet.
Ross
2 years ago |napalm, I would agree. I can’t believe the amount of non-thinkers shooting theirs mouths off here as they did over the E5. A bunch of dreamers coming up with ridiculous expectations & then running Olympus into the ground when they didn’t produce their sci fi dreams. It’s funny how the camera is now being bought up faster than it is being supplied. I wish I could get one.
I think the move to have the phones will fill the natural progression of low end p&s cameras needing to be combined into the phones & all they offer with today’s functions/apps etc. to keep sales in that area of cameras continuing, the same as the move into mirrorless cameras taking up bottom end DSLRs. It’s going to (or is with Olympus) happen whether we like it or not.
cL
2 years ago |+1
Though keep in mind, the tender offer has already begun, so that means Olympus is serious about moving to phone camera business. Japanese market is different from the US market, so it’s possible Olympus Phone would never come over here. Japanese cells phones are different in infrastructure. I guess these flaming dreamers are bound to run Olympus to the ground again. You can’t stop them…, it’s a free country (tongue in cheek).
MK
2 years ago |Its going to be called E6 and will have one less stop than E5. Includes calendar filters and a solar panel. Est charge time = 36 hrs.
LG L-03C, otro móvil-cámara en ALTFoto (Actualidad)
2 years ago |[...] porque si es así las grandes firmas de cámaras compactas tienen que moverse. Ya se rumorea que Olympus anda interesado en una solución móvil-cámara y estos días se ha presentado incluso un sensor para móviles que permite disparar en RAW. Solo [...]