Kodak?s smartphone launch leverages a well-known photographic name with an outreach to older, less tech-savvy users who want an easier-to-use mobile phone.

Kodak?s Bullitt-made IM5 smartphone, unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show, lets users quickly edit photographs and either display them on the device, share on social media or print using a customized mobile application compatible with home printers as well as future printing and sharing services. Kodak, a once-dominant camera and film brand, claims the IM5, which retails for $249 and for now will only be available in Europe, serves a market segment that has been poorly served by handset manufacturers.

"The Kodak IM5 is a smartphone that is as easy to use as it is smart,? said Oliver Schulte, CEO of Bullitt Group. ?It?s designed for consumers making their first move from a feature-phone to smartphone ? older users, over 55, and anyone who wants a smartphone that is easier to use than what they currently have or are being offered.?

The phone, designed for users who have no interest in handling high-end flagship phones, will roll out in Europe around April.

Marketed to consumers who are familiar with the heritage of the Kodak brand, the Android-based phone comes with a dedicated app store.

"We feel that Kodak?s resonance with millions of consumers globally presents a fantastic opportunity to enter the mobile device market with a unique proposition,? Mr. Schulte said. 

?Namely great-looking products that are as easy to use, specifically for image capture and sharing, as they are powerful." 

Initial estimates based on market analyst data suggest Europe has nearly 30 million mobile phone users, and that is only looking at current smartphone users, Mr. Schulte said. 

?We believe that for consumers trading up from a feature phone - which is often where issues occur for older users - the market potential is much higher," Mr. Schulte said.

A feature phone is a mobile phone that incorporates features such as the ability to access the Internet and store and play music but lacks the advanced functionality of a smartphone.

In a press release, Eileen Murphy, vice president for brand licensing at Kodak said too many memories stay stuck on mobile phones, often because the process for sharing them is too complicated for users.

The Kodak phone?s features include a slideshow of images on the lock screen and a shortcut to printing photos from a home screen. 

The phone has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The user is allowed to approve photos before they are stored on the phone. 

The home screen contains buttons for email, phone dialer, messages, camera, magnifier and other features, eliminating the need to hunt around in an app drawer for those functions, CNET reported. 

The phone also has a built-in remote access feature so that someone else can access the phone from a computer to set it up or troubleshoot it.

 

Kodak?s phone attests to how the smartphone has become part of our daily lives. 

Initially, the device was seen as an extra outlet for productivity in business, but has turned into a personal path to creative impulses.

"Kodak has one of the world's most powerful brands,? said Christopher Veronada, manager, corporate communications for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y. ?We intend to renew it and leverage its great untapped potential in key markets like smartphones."