Canon and Nikon command more than 80% of the Japanese DSLR market

Japan is home territory for Nikon and Canon. For both it is not simply a matter of market share but also of prestige and fame. Therefore, the battle is nothing but fierce. According to dpreview the two brands together command more than 80% of the DSLR market. Nikon is ahead with 43.3% and Canon follows with 39.9%. Overall in digital cameras, Canon commands 21.2% and retains the number one spot for the fourth consecutive year. Numbers are up to the end of November 2007 but December is not expected to change the year’s results. The Japanese DSLR market grew in 2007 significantly, 50% by items sold, 35% by value. Predictions for 2008 are also optimistic as in the rest of the world.

Tech developments I would like to see in 2008!

Now that 2008 is only a couple of days away is the right time to write about the developments I would like to see. I am not in favour of votes for the best of each category of 2007. We have all bought and used stuff this last year, we have also already done our choices for Christmas, so what’s the point? After all these things are so much down to personal taste that it is hard to announce a single product or site as the best in its category and clearly above everything else. So many CPU cycles have been devoted to Facebook vs MySpace & iPhone vs Nokia N95 type stories that I think a bit more of that would be overkill. So summarising thoughts from previous posts and by also adding some new ones, here is the things that I would love to see happening in 2008:

• Good, reliable, fast internet access, both wired and wireless. The wired part is getting better briskly. But for wireless still a lot has to be done… 
• Some compatibility between social networks. What is happening now is crazy and exhausting. Separate accounts, separate contacts, separate everything for each one of them. When for example Yahoo and MSN made their messengers compatible -even with limited inter-functionality- it was a great relief for me.

When is the market dominated by a single player?

This post is a direct result of recent rumours in several blogs that state that Intel’s Penryn chips might appear later in the market than originally projected because AMD currently has a very weak product line and is not a threat even for Intel’s current CPU models! Of course Intel has the last word in this, but even the rumour is enough to make me think that there are cases when users do not receive the freshest technology developments as they become available at company R&D departments. For this to happen, the particular company must be the absolute leader in its market, the undisputed number one. Here is some examples:

• Intel obviously. It dominates computer CPUs for ages now.
• Canon in photographic cameras.
• Microsoft in operating systems.
• Apple in portable music devices and music downloads.

So apart from market share how do you judge that a company is in such a strong position?