Eye-Fi: First Wireless Memory Card for Digital Cameras

Fri Nov 2, 2007 12:47PM EDT

See Comments (102)

Now here's a great idea. Take a normal-looking 2GB SD card. Add a wireless chip to it. Stick the whole thing into your camera, and before you know it you've got a wireless camera. Now add a dose of software smarts onto the SD card to manage the whole thing and what do you get? You get a quick wireless ticket straight from your camera to any one of 17 different social networks or photo-sharing sites including Facebook, blogging sites like TypePad, photo-sharing sites like Flickr and Snapfish, or your PC or Mac. If you've been lamenting how your photos never seem to make it out of the camera, lament no more. The price? $99.99 with 2GB of storage (about 1,000 photos).

I caught up with Jef Holove, CEO of Eye-Fi, shortly after this product was announced. He shed some additional light on how stuff works behind the scenes. The card has everything, including the software necessary to get you up and running. All you need to do is tell the card which service you want your photos sent to. It also archives the photos on your PC or Mac. And while you can belong to multiple services, you can't send your photos to more than one at a time. Currently the card supports JPEG files only, but transmits photos without any degradation in resolution. It will resize the photos if the online destination requires it.

Holove says, "Digital cameras made it extremely easy to take pictures, but the rest of the process is a hassle." Wireless, he says, will make things much easier. We'll have a review unit momentarily and report back, but this sounds like a winner.

Top 5 Posts

Comments on Eye-Fi: First Wireless Memory Card for Digital Cameras

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 26 Posted by caribeme2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    I got really excited til I went to their website, I was wishing this would hop on any network when one was found. However, this will only work on your HOME network from 90 feet outside and 45 feet inside. This would be a much better product if it could find any wi-fi signal and let you know somehow. What a great way it could have been to keep people up to date as you travel around europe or so on. But if it has to be in my house to use on my home network why pay $99 when I could just plug one cable in upstairs. I would have paid triple the price for the true wi-fi capability!

  • 27 Posted by tvodny on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ms Jay can you upload photos on myspace and do you need a router does it work with hp cameras

  • 28 Posted by b5weste on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    thats good news, but would it work in canon 500

  • 29 Posted by tianahulse on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    what a joke $99.99 there should be no difference in price to a normal 2gig card which i can get online for 15.99 if you go to google products - stop surpressing technology and give us a full featured wireless envrionment thats cost effective vs. taxing us at 1000% profit for your stupid company ... .arrrrrg

  • 30 Posted by mtthwmueller on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    how does your PC recieve it? DO you need to install some wireless hardware in the PC as well? I'm assuming it doesnt have bluetooth or else this part would be easy. A lot of people never want to sign up for those so-called social networking sites, so simply copying to their PC is the preferred solution.

  • 31 Posted by tvodny on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Great idea. I wonder how long it will be before people are secretly copying pictures off your camera at the airport.

  • 32 Posted by stack888 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    oh I get it now. You need to have a wireless internet connection at home too. Great, more expense. Nah, think I'll leave this new 'solution' alone. Creates more problems than it solves. Still easier and cheaper to simply pop the card out and insert it into PC via usb.

  • 33 Posted by sillythea on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Quote: _edwardel "do they have it in xd version?" LOL! They can't even keep up with other cards in capacity or speed, xD it will be outdated before someone puts a wireless chip in one! (Yes, I'm a disgruntled xD card user myself)

  • 34 Posted by caribeme2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    Does anyone know where it can be purchased? flash

  • 35 Posted by albert.tijerina@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    You know how easy it's going to be to hack pictures off of these things? Just wait until (insert name of high profile celebrity here) gets a hold of one of these. Good times.

  • 36 Posted by rynbrnda on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    What Is Wrong With You People That Seesm To BE More Likie A Spy Device For The Government . Look At the Name FCC ID , Why Are You people So Easly Fooled .Might As Well Get Your Rfid Chip Installed IN your Body . Cuz This IS The Same Thing . You people Want Things So Easy Without Knowing The Consequences . Research Blind Mice(You People)Before You Get It .You'll See What I mean

  • 38 Posted by oklachoctaw on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    if i used this card in my pocket pc, ( i have an older one) can i use this card like a standered wifi link too. is it just send or can i Receive too.

  • 40 Posted by jime.rm on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    will there be cost associated to storage on any of the sites mentioned?

  • 41 Posted by sp_chipman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    cool...I can swipe other people's photos from their cameras! Are their any security features in place?

  • 43 Posted by ninaweenajellybeana on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    This technology is greatly expanding to allow the futher events of Bibical events.

  • 44 Posted by porksword420 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    Brilliant(sarcasm intended). Now everyone can tap into your picture and see what you are doing-wehter you want them seen or not.. This is for people too lazy to take the time to transfer them to their own computer.

  • 45 Posted by smkngun1983 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    my question is will they be making this in a micro SD so it can be used for your phone?

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.