Student Jessica Lai does not have a digital camera to call her own and she is highly unlikely to buy a dedicated snapper for those picture-perfect moments.

It is not that the 22-year-old has a camera phobia, but that, like many young people, she grew up relying on camera phones for those candid, impromptu shots with her friends.

She sees no need to separate the camera from the phone. 'It's definitely much more convenient to use my phone, rather than to bring another camera along.'

Miss Lai's sentiments match those of mobile phone manufacturers, who have long touted the virtues of convergence devices.

A few years ago, the first few generations of camera phones were built on the VGA standard, which produced pixilated images with muddy colours.

Pitting them against a 5-megapixel digital camera was like comparing a bicycle to a race car.

But fast-forward a few years, and mobile phone companies have caught up in a big way.

In October 2004, Samsung became the first to market a 5-megapixel camera phone. Since then, the likes of LG and Nokia have followed suit, with Nokia launching its highly touted N95 phone with a 5-megapixel camera here last month.

Electronics firm Sony also combined its high- quality Sony Cyber-shot digital camera with its Sony Ericsson mobile phones last year. That resulted in sales of nearly five million Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot mobile phones.

'The huge success is a strong indication of consumers' growing preference for convergence products, including camera phones with resolutions that are comparable to entry-level standalone cameras,' said Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications' head of market unit in Singapore, Mr Jack Tan.

After comparing the photos from her 3.2-megapixel Sony Ericsson phone with those taken with her family's 6-megapixel Panasonic digital camera, Ms Lai said that the difference is negligible.

'I have developed the pictures taken from my phone and the quality is pretty good, just like any other camera I use,' she said.

This probably explains why camera phones are so popular. In fact, Nokia has overtaken Canon, Sony and other camera giants to become the world's largest camera manufacturer, with 140 million camera phones sold last year.

Studies by research firm Strategy Analytics found that camera phones outsold digital cameras by nearly four to one in 2004.

With the technology gap narrowing, mobile phone manufacturers are making sure that their camera phones contain more than the standard flash, shutter speed adjustment and video recording capabilities.

For example, Nokia is packing in functions like Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System and pocket computing software to offer more convergence.

Its spokesman said Nokia is expecting its sales of convergence devices to hit 250 million units by next year.

But having such convergence results in 'crippled capabilities' for consumers, said Mr Andrew Koh, the director and general manager of Canon Singapore's Consumer Imaging and Information Division.

He said the flash on a dedicated camera is more responsive than the one on a camera phone and the camera's longer, larger lens also produces better pictures.

Olympus and Canon also point out that some advancements in cameras, such as facial detection technology, have yet to be introduced in camera phones.

Some cameras, such as Olympus' Mju series, are also waterproof and shockproof, which give users more peace of mind.

Olympus Imaging Singapore's marketing executive, Ms Carolyn Chia, said: 'Camera phones will be useful for casual shoots. But for more important moments, like travelling or the birth of a baby, most people still prefer