Consumer electronics manufacturers are running after new features to try to convince you to buy their new products. Mobile phone vendors are, for example, increasing add on features like the GPS, cameras, music functions and more. They are changing mobile phones into all-in-one tools while some people find it increasingly challenging to use as a simple phone… :=)

Digital camera vendors feel the threats of embedded camera in phones are innovating into new features. Some months or even last year, the war was on the pixel size. Like PC manufacturers who are constantly increasing their CPU speeds, camera vendors increase their pixels from 4 mega pixels to 5, 6, 8, 12MP in small cameras. This is totally useless unless you want to print on A3 and unless you have the proper lens which can capture the right level of light, but that is the game.

The new trend is about face detection, smile detection, blink detection.

From a consumer point of view, it means cameras are getting more sophisticated and can automatically adjust their focus on faces, wait for everybody to smile or avoid having someone blinking in the picture. The question is: Do we need these? I would say no at this point of time because it is really not difficult to take a second shot, delete the first one if you took a bad one. In the older days, those features would have been extremely useful because you cannot review your pictures before printing. Nowadays, with the zap in zap out feature, this is not as critical.

However, I guess that should be called evolution. Like we have more programs in cameras, new technologies help consumers to take better pictures.

This helps as well manufacturers to have new marketing angles to promote their products.

It is important in that case to have the right claim, the right explanation cross the marketing chain. Consumers deserve the right to understand clearly the values and benefits of those new features and decide for themselves if they really need them.