28th November 2006

Sensor Market Still Growing Strong

In 2005, the image sensor market continued its strong growth, spurred by the booming camera phone market, reports In-Stat. Camera phones comprised over 70% of all digital cameras that shipped in 2005, and the vast majority of these devices used CMOS sensors, with the remainder using CCDs, the high-tech market research firm says.

Because of the strength of the camera phone market, overall area CMOS image sensor shipments exceeded area CCD shipments by nearly a factor of three in 2005. This gap will continue to widen through 2010.

"CMOS will continue to flourish, due to its popularity in camera phones, web cameras, and toy cameras," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "CCDs will continue to thrive in markets such as digital still cameras, camcorders, and security cameras."
Digital still cameras continued as the second-largest market for image sensors, with over 70 million units shipped in 2005. In 2005, embedded cameras in PCs hit the market, especially in notebook PCs. Automotive rear view cameras continued to show strong growth in higher-end sedans, sport utility vehicles and minivans.

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