Wi-Fi Memory Card Connects Cameras to the Internet

Comments

• 	GPS jkupchaunis on 10/30/2007 at 8:25 AM
  Posts: 1	Nice first start, but I think a GPS device would also be a benefit.  If each image was imbedded with GPS location; image recognition, place nearby, literally tons of information can be associated. Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • Re: GPS fastboxster on 10/30/2007 at 9:21 AM

    Posts: 5

    Geotagging is great, but I think having a separate bluetooth unit works best anyway. From a functional perspective GPS requires to see satellites and since many people keep their cameras in their pocket, they would have to wait up to a minute to locate before taking a picture. From a practical perspective the smallest GPS "chip" is 10x bigger than an SD slot. If you buy a bluetooth GPS logger you can always add GPS location to your EXIF image data with tools from www.locr.com (or similar). I imagine Flickr and others will also support this feature if they don't already. Also some cameras already support an external bluetooth GPS for geotagging but most manufacturers consider it a defunct feature and have dropped it from current generation cameras. Personally I think they've abandoned the idea too soon, as it came and went slightly before the "YouTube" frienzy and before the adoption of Bluetooth 2.0 (with EDR) which makes it more viable. Rate this comment: (Reply)

    • 	Re: GPS wdcampbell3 on 10/30/2007 at 4:11 PM
      Posts: 1	The tech for integrated GPS might not be mainstream just yet but it's coming: http://tinyurl.com/3dac3w it's both more intuitive and less bulky to have both in one device. phones, pdas, gps and cameras should all converge gracefully in the next 5 years anyway... Rate this comment: (Reply)

      • Re: GPS fastboxster on 10/31/2007 at 6:06 AM

        Posts: 5

        I believe that camera is several generations old already.  The 500SE is still available online, although you probably won't find it locally.  That is one of the "come and gone" cameras I was thinking of.  It's well over $1000 and is very much "last generation" technology.  This camera (and others like it) were not well accepted among professionals because you too frequently needed to wait up to a minute to locate before taking a picture.  For the price you could buy a really good Nikon, Canon or Sony and a top notch GPS logger.  Sony has a new "keychain" GPS logger for the "mainstream" enthusiast although there are far better ones to be had for less money.  The cool aspect of the WIFI SD card featured in this article is that it allows you to add WIFI for only $100 to pretty much any camera that uses an SD slot (almost all cameras).  It is a stop-gap solution for those who might already have expensive cameras or who are early adopters of technology.  My point about the GPS feature is that it's not that practical since you can already get an external GPS logger, which is a better solution since you can leave it out so that it can collect satellite signal and you won't have to wait before taking your picture.  Plus you'll never be able to fit a GPS receiver into an SD card.  Fitting it into a camera is not a problem, but it requires that you buy a whole new camera (which a lot of professionals would never do if they've invested in a nice DSLR with lenses and accessories).  What I expect to see next is the next generation bluetooth built-in to cameras that allows you to pair it with a GPS enabled mobile phone.  This is the Personal Area Network (PAN) technology that is a feature of Windows Mobile 6. I can see a lot of value to being able to add a high-end camera to your PAN. Rate this comment: (Reply)

        • Re: GPS pete_kirkham on 10/31/2007 at 5:15 PM

          Posts: 1

          > The cool aspect of the WIFI SD card featured in this article is that it allows you to add WIFI for only $100 to pretty much any camera that uses an SD slot (almost all cameras). Most WiFi SD cards are around £15 for b, £50 for g ($30/$100). This product's USP is the automatic upload - though since you have to have a laptop to configure it on-site, you could always use the laptop to do the uploading instead.  Rate this comment: (Reply)

          • 	Re: GPS fastboxster on 11/01/2007 at 12:11 PM
            Posts: 5	Those SD cards are for PDA's and Smartphones.  AFAIK this is the only WIFI card for a camera. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• bit of a tangent, but....any thoughts? Staggerbot on 10/30/2007 at 4:03 PM

  Posts: 3

  What do you get when you combine a hi-resolution camera phone, a high power LED flash, GPS, and rapid wireless upload capability? A powerful weapon in the hands of average people to combat violent crime, and it's about to change our society for the better. Here's a scenario which although relatively rare, leads to a great deal of fear and anxiety for many people, and in fact happens far too often. Imagine a woman walking home from her friends place late one night when she notices someone following her and behaving suspiciously. She crosses the street, the stranger crosses the street. She speeds up, the stranger speeds up. Then come the words, "Hey, where you heading? I just want to talk to you for a second.". Coming from a stranger at 1:00 am on an empty and poorly lit side street, what does she do? She looks behind her and they are 10 steps away and walking purposefully towards her. She can't make out many details of their shadowed face or clothing, except that they look like a hundred other people she's seen that day....and there's still no one else around besides her and him. Now she knows what to do. She pulls her hand out of her pocket with her cell phone in it, then points and shoots. A flash and one second later a high quality photo with the time and location has been sent to hers and her friends e-mail accounts, and the stranger with bad judgment knows it. He's on his way after saying he thought she were some one else, and she's on her way too. After all, if anything did happen to her, the police would have a picture of their number one suspect with a location and date stamp on it, and he can't do anything about it. Wrestling her cell phone away is pointless, the picture was completely delivered to email or wireless accounts of her predetermined choice 1 second after being taken. What's more, she doesn't have to worry about anything being taken away from her and used against her, the weapon is information itself. It doesn't take much effort to see the many other situations where affordable technology of this type will have an impact. Everything from home security to child safety will be greatly enhanced and the positive effects on society will be profound and immediate. Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • Re: bit of a tangent, but....any thoughts? fastboxster on 10/31/2007 at 7:00 AM

    Posts: 5

    It may be a long while before we have "tech savvy" criminals who would be deterred by the fear of being caught.  A lot of times even police officers with weapons won't deter a criminal.  Maybe future mobile phones will start streaming video when you make an emergency 911 call.  Also, maybe making a 911 call could trip nearby security systems so-as to allow them to stream video to emergency responders as well. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• About the new thread... Raistlin on 10/31/2007 at 10:47 AM

  Posts: 9 Avg Rating:

  That is a really cool idea, and it could possibly work very well.  The thing you have to consider, though, is that crime adapts to changing circumstances.  When forensics were advanced, they started wearing gloves, etc.  How long do you think it will take for a device to appear on the black market that wipes those cameras and phones of there pictures with an electromagnetic pulse before the pictures are even sent?  Or criminals may lure or force victims into areas with electromagnetic nets, which would do the same thing.  I am not trying to knock anyone - it is a great idea - but application and counter measures still need to be developed.  Rate this comment: (Reply)