Tech is at a tipping point

Do you want to take a picture, upload it to your computer, and e-mail it to your friends? Or would you rather take a picture and immediately text it to your sister and then post it to Facebook?

Sure, digital cameras take great photos. But smartphones do too -- and they're constantly connected to the Internet and in our pockets.

Demand for digital cameras in the United States has been on the decline ever since 2009 when shipments dropped by more than 6% year over year. The decline started gaining serious steam in 2011 when shipments of digital cameras dropped by more than 15%.

"We can definitely attribute that to the iPhone 4," said Christopher Chute, an analysts at IDC.

The iPhone 4, which debuted in the summer of 2011, featured a 5-megapixel camera that took pictures just as clearly as a typical point-and-shoot.

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