Eye-Fi announces Apple-exclusive Geo X2 card, more WiFi hotspot support
By Chris Ziegler 
posted April 27th 2010 11:00AM
posted April 27th 2010 11:00AM
In the event that none of Eye-Fi's existing 802.11n-capable offerings meet your wireless photo upload needs, take heart, because there's a new model getting shoehorned between the $49.99 Connect X2 and the $99.99 Explore X2 that might just satisfy your discerning tastes. Like the entry-level Connect X2, the Geo X2 brings 4GB of Class 6 (read: high-speed) photo and video storage plus an "Endless Memory Mode" that can automatically delete shots once they've been safely uploaded to their destination -- but like the name implies, the new model adds the automatic geotagging support offered by its pricier siblings. It'll be an Apple Store exclusive starting next month for $69.99.Along with the Geo X2, Eye-Fi is announcing a partnership with Devicescape that's yielding significantly expanded support for open WiFi hotspots with splash screen logins such as those offered by schools, cafes, and WiFi providers like Boingo, arguably addressing one of the card's biggest weaknesses. The new capability will be available to users by the end of May -- so start finding more awesome stuff to photograph, alright?
Please make a CF version of the Eye-Fi card.
Why would this be an Apple Store exclusive?
@jin and guice because you're an Apple hater. (now I go to oblivion)
@CMiCH Bit drastic going to oblivion?
@CMiCH
Let me try that again: What does Apple sell that you can put a SD card into and doesn't already have WiFi and/or GPS?
@jin and guice As an Apple fantard, I too wondered why this is an Apple exclusive. All Apple devices with SD card slots have wireless Internet access built into them and are not designed for photography.
@Dale P I thought it was exclusive to Apple Stores, like the places you goto and haven't seen selling camera ever. Turns out that Apple does sell a hand full of Cannon cameras (for about $50 more than Amazon, of course) Anyway, there wasn't a "OMG THE STORE IS DOWN!!!" post, so how could I know?
@jin and guice Funny. It's funny after almost every computer in the world has had SD Card slots as standard for years, in the last year Apple has just started making SD Slots a standard feature.
why dont any of these work with the sony A330 :(
I don't see how can you use this memory card as a wi-fi. And how can you call it APPLE exclusive. They don't even have memory cards in their iPod Touch or iPhone.
@Inspector Gadget80 It's probably Apple Exclusive because a good amount of people would use this for iPhoto 09's Places features when using their digital cameras. The card itself would geotag the photos and be good for cameras that dont have a GPS chip in it.
@Inspector Gadget80 Why would you even need one for the iPod, iPhone, or iPad? They all have Wifi Built in -- plus there is already a EyeFi App ---- these are meant for the separate cameras that do not have wifi already. This "Apple exclusive" part is from EyeFi themselves - because it geotags the pics and sends them to your iphoto with built in places --- does other platforms have geotagging abilities from the photos you upload? Sure, but it's not built into the package you get with all macs (iPhoto)
@ISEPIC
The iPhone Eye-Fi app just simply facilitates the upload of your iPhone pictures and videos to your Eye-Fi account. You have to already have an account to take advantage of this (meaning you have to have purchased a card to have an account).
Also, it doesn't "send them to your iPhoto" it simply uploads them to the Eye-Fi servers and downloads them to your computer in the file location you specify in your Eye-Fi manager. Sure, if this is a location that is set up in iPhoto then you are partially correct.
I love and hate my Eye-Fi cards. I have yet to really use them out and about though, I only use them in my home. I have a Nikon D5000. The camera has to be on for the card to work. The uploads are slow, taking 2-3 seconds to upload per picture... which can be a significant time if you just snapped hundreds of photos. It's usually just simpler to pull out the card and pop it in the computer.
Sure, it has it's uses, but it really depends on your needs as to how much use you would truly get out of these cards.
@ISEPIC
Also, I wanted to mention that geo-tagging isn't exclusive to iPhoto. This can be used in Windows Live Gallery and Picasa as well. Also, these cards aren't the only way to geo-tag your photos. Some cameras have GPS units you can buy. There's even an iPhone app you can run that tracks your location while you are out and about and then when you get home you sync it to your computer and it geo-tags the photos based on the times they were taken.
would buy one if it sync with iPhone/iPad over wifi
@alexiaco
there's an app for that already?
@htd What's that? I want it.
@alexiaco
There's an app for that.
@alexiaco
Go to the app store and search for Eye-Fi. You manually have to initiate the sync, but it will sync your iPhone pictures through your Eye-Fi account.
that's no real geo, maybe they should make a microSD to SD adapter with GPS/Wifi support instead.
Apple exclusive meaning Apple Store exclusive - thought it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, even as an Apple user. How many digital cameras does Apple sell? I'm not even sure if the retail stores even carry cameras anymore.
I'd like to see a version of this that syncs the data between multiple cards. Then one could use multiple xbox 360 without swapping memory sticks...
(Or MS could tie permissions to user gamertag's and give us a limited amount of 'licensed' consoles for said gamertag... Sort of like purchased iTunes content. /rant)
Apple exclusive = overpriced
I still keep wondering why they haven't made an iPhone app that includes support for "Unlimited Storage Mode" where pics are transferred to the iPhone, hence removing the need for a actual WiFi connection to the internet and just a local connection, where it would just get geolocation data from the GPS in the iPhone and also serve as additional storage space. It seems like the current EyeFi app is lacking.
I'd rather have SDXC support.
Why are they still making 4gb cards to begin with? The last time I got a 4gb card was for my first Canon 10D.
@HJTravels
because it only needs enough local memory to store temp what its uploading... Also, putting the transmitter in there, they had to sacrifice something...
@zelannii How often are you really that close to a wi-fi hotspot, you can use, with your camera? I use my camera all over the place and I could easily fill up a 4gb card with no problem. I don't think the 4gb memory and the 16gb memory are that much difference in size.
@HJTravels
You could connect your Eye-Fi to a MiFi with wi-fi. And send your bill sky high. Stupid caps...sigh.
@TheOtherJames I'm already high thinking about all that.
Sweet! i just noted in the manual for my wife's new Canon SX120S that EyeFi is a formally supported SD card format!
(I didn't know it was a "format" but hey...)
I know it's been stated but I have to ask yet again. What does Apple make that uses an SD Card and doesn't already have Wireless b/g/n? All of the iDevices can't use an SD card so this is kinda pointless, no?
@Darkseider
Never thought of it that way, but the Macbook pro does use SD card.
My MBP has an SD card slot. Who cares if the Apple store carries it? If they didn't, someone else would. Apple sells all kinds of shit. Why is this so different?
I wish it would stream video. I'd like to use it for a wireless Skype webcam.
I don't really get this. When I'm taking pictures, I usually don't have wifi access. So what's the point?