Back in March, Anssi Vanjoki, the then head of multimedia at Nokia, was bragging about cameraphone sales to the Financial Times, and said "In the next 6-12 months, there will be more of these announcements. The next to disappear will be the makers of music devices and then the manufacturers of video cameras."

The main argument against Nokia's aggressive stance is that there will always be a market for dedicated single function devices.   However that argument is far stronger in the case of still and video cameras than for MP3 players. Choice in digital cameras spans the gamut from cheap snapshot models costing less than a couple of hundred dollars to devices for professional photographers costing many thousands: and very need in between is well catered for.

Cameraphones are working their way up the functionality scale, lead by Nokia with the launch last October of its Carl Zeiss Tessar lens equipped N90 .

But so too camera makers are adding more functionality into their products. At worst the low end of the camera market might find itself seriously depleted by mobile phones but there will be plenty of scope at the higher end of the market.

Makers of MP3 players are much more vulnerable. There is really no such thing a 'professional' MP3 player. And even more than a camera, an MP3 player is something you carry with you everywhere so you can listen to music, or podcasts,  on the train, on the bus, while you are jogging. If anything it is perfect for incorporation into your mobile phone, which you have to carry anyway.

Still there is huge momentum behind the iPod and if Apple does come out with an iPhone even it if is no match for Nokia with its years of experience and massive R&D in cellphone technology, the reverse argument could apply. Why would I go for a fancy phone and compromise my music playing abilities if I can get the best music player and does the job of a basic cellphone.

Nokia is starting to sound very arrogant: never a good sign.{moscomment}