In-Stat have released a new forecast theorizing that cameraphone demand may be peaking in the US. According to the research firm, cameraphones have reached about 40% penetration in the US market thus far, but consumers really want better resolution, easier use of storage media, and features more akin to those found in high-end Digital Cameras.

"'These desires, plus the fact that many users already have a high-resolution digital camera, lead In-Stat to forecast that the North American market for camera and camcorder phones will peak in 2007,' says Bill Hughes, In-Stat analyst."

Related In-Stat research found:

• The vast majority of users in the survey also use a high-resolution digital camera in addition to their camera phones. Only 3% of the respondents use their phone as their only digital camera.
  
• Most survey respondents indicated that they take fewer than 10 pictures with their camera phone each month.
  
• Fewer than 2% of respondents say they will consider a camera phone with less than 1 megapixel, while more than 50% say they would only consider a handset with more than 2 megapixels of resolution.

While In-Stat sees the glass half empty on cameraphones, based on this data, I would argue that this early experience with cameraphones is only whetting US consumers' appetites for the devices. With much better cameraphone functionality coming online in Asia and Europe, US consumers may soon see better technology in the domestic market.

Related consumer interest in standalone digital cameras, blogging, photo sharing and emerging use of MMS point to possible fertile ground for cameraphones in the US in future. Device manufacturers and operators are perhaps now learning from their own mistakes that shipping higher end or high-style handsets with VGA cameras are what's holding back the market. Consumers know they can expect better, and may begin to see some satisfaction. I'll just bet this isn't a peak year.