eye-fi
Latest
Eye-Fi to get upgraded with "Smart Boost," become available in Ritz Camera stores
Eye-Fi still hasn't taken the world by storm, but the company is hard at work improving the WiFi-enabled SD card, which is now available in Ritz Camera outlets. The newest feature for the cards, due on February 12, is called "Smart Boost," which will intelligently prioritize where data is going to improve battery life. If your computer is on or awake, the Eye-Fi will send photos across the LAN to the client software, which will then handle the upload to your fave photo service, but if the Eye-Fi doesn't detect your machine, the chip will send images the service directly. Of course, this is all assuming you're still on your home network, so the practical effect is pretty low, but it's nice to see the company trying -- just let us know when the Eye-Fi can use open hotspots, okay?
Nikon's D60 is world's first Eye-Fi enhanced camera
It may be a low-end DSLR contender, but Nikon's D60 can still surprise. Seems Nikon and Eye-Fi are in cahoots as the D60 was just announced as the first shooter crowned "Eye-Fi Connected." The D60 recognizes the Eye-Fi wireless 2GB SD card when inserted then automatically adjusts its "power timer settings" so that picture transfers aren't interrupted. Kind of important when uploading hundreds dozens of 10.2 megapixel photos over WiFi. In return for the powerful industry nod, Eye-Fi will offer on-line integration with Nikon's "my Picturetown" this Spring. We'll be sure to go hands-on with the combo at PMA just as soon as we get the chance.
Eye-Fi kicks the folder habit, adds iPhoto support
Believe it or not, MacWorld does continue even after Jobs has left the building. In as much, Eye-Fi just announced support for Apple's iPhoto as well as the Safari and Firefox browsers when accessing their web-based Eye-Fi Manager. iPhoto support means you can now capture images from your digital camera to your $99 Eye-Fi 2GB SD card and transmit them directly into the photo management software while on your home WiFi network -- right, no hotspot uploading action for you. Considering photos were previously dumped into a folder (or 19 on-line sites), the free update is definitely a step in the right direction.[Via TUAW]
Eye-Fi gains Mac and iPhoto compatibility
The Eye-Fi is an interesting concept: it integrates a WiFi radio into an SD memory card, allowing you to upload images directly from your camera to your computer or to a web photo service. In conjunction with Macworld, the company has announced an update that adds Mac compatibility to the card for direct wireless import into iPhoto in Leopard (as well as setup with Safari). It remains compatible with 19 online services including flickr, Picasa and others, but sadly not .Mac yet. The 2GB Eye-FI card costs $99.99. The Mac update is compatible with existing Eye-Fi cards and is available for download now.[via MacMinute]
Lexar to license Eye-Fi's WiFi SD tech
It's hard enough to get noticed in the camera storage market, and while Eye-Fi's 2GB WiFi SD cards have certainly gotten some play, the company is teaming up with Lexar to promote the tech to a larger audience. From what we can tell, Lexar won't be making any changes to the core product, just lending its brand name, but details are slim at the moment. Lexar will be showing off Eye-Fi's stuff this week at CES, maybe they'll let some release info slip in the coming days.
Eye-Fi hands-on, impressions
You may have seen the Eye-Fi, launched this week, nearly a year and a half since we first heard about it. If you're just catching up on the news, it's basically a WiFi-enabled SD card (and accompanying web service) used to transparently and wirelessly transfer photos from your camera to your computer and/or a variety of photo sharing sites. Sounds like a great idea in theory, it turns out that the Eye-Fi is, in its current release, an answer seeking a question. Read on.%Gallery-9561%
Eye-Fi WiFi-enabled SD card finally shipping
It's taken well over a year for Eye-Fi to bring its self-titled wireless SD card to market, but on the plus side, that Benjamin now gets you 2GB of storage -- a welcome boost for a rumored capacity that had dipped as low as 512MB. In case the past 18 months have made the details a little fuzzy, this 802.11g card requires a one-time setup on your PC before it's ready to automatically upload full resolution pics to one of 17 websites each time you turn on your camera. Even better, a backup copy is also sent to your PC, ensuring that your photos are safely archived when your favorite social network folds.
Eye-Fi's 2GB SD wireless card hits the FCC
It's taken nearly a full year, but Eye-Fi has finally gotten around to doubling the capacity of its multifaceted SD card. The Eye-Fi-2GB provides the same WiFi-enabling capabilities to any SD-ready digital camera, but this one looks to pack 2GB of capacity to handle even more snaps. From what we can tell by peeking the (apparently scanned in) user's manual, the card will be compatible with both Macs and PCs, but of course, we've no idea how much this thing will cost you when it finally hits shelves. Rest assured, we'll be finding out soon enough.
Eye-Fi's Eye-Film WiFi SD card now shipping in beta
Remember that SD card from Eye-Fi which was to bring us an extra 1GB of flash along with our 802.11g WiFi? Well pull-up, or even drop, a stool 'cause the Eye-Film has finally gone beta. If you're up to handing over $99 for a not yet production-ready piece of kit, then you'll receive a 512MB (1GB coming later as a free upgrade for beta testers) SD card incorporating 802.11b/g WiFi that is said to transfer JPEG photos from within your camera to either in-home PC and Macs or directly to supported on-line sites, like say, Flickr we hope. Sorry, no ability to transfer RAW or movie files yet and there won't be support for Smartphones during the Beta as Windows Mobile solutions are still being investigated. And you Treo owners can simmer down too 'cause according to Palm, "they cannot support network peripherals on this particular branch of PalmOS." Figures. The Eye-Film has been tested with a "wide range" of consumer and pro digicams (it comes with Compact Flash Type-II adapter) so the beta is open to all -- if they can't get it to work then you'll get a full refund. Hell, why not, we say.[Thanks, Caleb]
Eye-Fi heads to beta this month
It looks like those jonesing for some WiFi action on their digital camera (without, you know, actually buying a new one) won't have to wait much longer, as the much-buzzed-about Eye-Fi SD WiFi card is set to go into beta testing later this month. The card doesn't require specialized drivers and will supposedly work with any camera that's been "qualified by Eye-Fi," letting you wirelessly transfer photos directly from your camera to your PC or to select websites. Exactly which cameras have "qualified" we're not sure, with the company only saying that they've tested "numerous camera brands and models" and that they're aiming for "broad camera interoperability." The card will also come with a Compact Flash (Type-II) adapter so you can use it with your precious D-SLRs. As of this writing, there's still no mention of the beta program on Eye-Fi's website, but the company says additional details and a sign-up procedure will be available in the coming days. It will also cost you, of course, though Eye-Fi's promising a full money-back guarantee. Let's just hope the beta testing doesn't take too long, cause we're guessing the available slots are gonna fill up pretty quickly.[Thanks, Caleb]
Eye-Fi embeds WiFi into your SD flash
Until now SD WiFi has come in the form of those oversized (well, relatively) cards too long to actually fit in your device except those specifically designed to take one, like Kodak's Easy Share One, or Treo 650 / 700. Well, according to Eye-Fi, we can all scratch that problem off the list. By building their wireless into the flash of an SD card they can save on precious space, and also get a GB of memory in there too. Of course this won't exactly help all those digital cameras out there that don't even come close to supporting such a thing, but sometimes this kind of gear has to precede the hardware support in order to prove its own demand.[Via TechCrunch]
