Interview: Connectix's Lepoutre on digital imaging
Published: 03 Sep 1996 15:15 BST
Building on its huge success last year with QuickCam, digital video expert Connectix hopes to grab itself a bigger slice of the digital imaging pie. Today, PCDN spoke to Connectix European sales manager Juliette Lepoutre about the new Colour QuickCam and Connectix's UK plans.
PCDN: What has the initial response to Colour QuickCam been like?
It's already been very good. Last year, we shipped 250,000 units of QuickCam. We went from producing 4,000 QuickCams a week to producing 4,000 a day. I'm confident that demand for Colour QuickCam will be even better. And we're using multiple distributors - two to three - in each country in Europe to lower the price points.
What was the original purpose behind QuickCam?
We wanted people to realise that the computer's not just an ugly box on your desktop - it can have eyes. Our vision was to give the computer sight. And anyone should be able to use a computer and actually have eyes in their computers. Surprisingly, 75 per cent of users of QuickCam hadn't used pictures in computers before.
Have there been any large orders for Colour QuickCam yet?
Yes, in fact, PC World has placed an order for about 1,000 units. As of today, we've sold 400,000 QuickCams and we're hoping to double this by the end of the year. We've already sold 150,000 Colour QuickCams in three months.
What sector of the market are you targeting?
We're always aiming towards home users and users of the Internet. But a survey of our 400,000 users showed that 49 per cent have used it for home and business, and 25 per cent use it for videoconferencing. Companies can also use the camera for training and to make brochures. I use it myself to make 10 minute video e-mails to send to the States when I'm travelling.
What are your future plans for QuickCam?
Originally, we wanted to drive our applications by building a black and white camera. Our main goal is to create as many desktop applications as possible. That's what we specialise in and that's where the money is. We intend to release a new application every two months for the next 12 months and increase people's awareness of Connectix.
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