According to the The Mercury News, at least one retail chain is selling disposable digital cameras. I guess the 2-megapixel cameras retail for $11 and include 25 shots.
This sounds good in theory, but looking at some of the details, I'm left scratching my head. Users of the camera are only able to delete the last picture taken--it's not possible to modify or review any of the other pictures. This is okay--it is a disposable camera, after all. But my greatest confusion in this is a simple question: "Why?"
It turns out, the camera can not be connected to a computer. Instead, the camera must be returned for processing. The user will then receive prints and a PhotoCD. Uh...I can do that now with the (much cheaper) current crop of 35mm cameras. And, I'll get the negatives. The article doesn't say how much (if any) processing fees are, but I can't imagine that this is that much better of a deal.
It seems to me that if I could just hook the camera up to my computer and get the instant satisfaction of having my pictures there, it would be much better. I'm sure the camera could be rigged to not function any more after the 25 picture limit (thus, the "disposable" part).
I suppose this is just a first crack at this concept. I'm sure we'll eventually see different takes on this as time progresses. Still, it's interesting that digital photography has entered the "disposable" stage. That shows you how far it's come.
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