Eye-Fi opens cloud service up to smartphone users

 

 

Wi-Fi enabled flash card maker Eye-Fi packs some pretty impressive technology into the confines of the humble SD card, but its not just its tech that's feeling the squeeze these days. On the one side, with the demise of the compact camera in the face of camera-equipped smartphones, the average consumer has less need for a way to get their photos onto their phone. On the other, the spread of cameras with built-in Wi-Fi means there's less need for a Wi-Fi addon from those of us who still carry a dedicated camera.

Clearly, Eye-Fi needs to find new ways to remain relevant, and its Eye-Fi Cloud service is a nice example. Long enjoyed by Eye-Fi Mobi card users, this photo-specific service helps sync your images between all of your devices, so that wherever you are -- phone, tablet, notebook or desktop -- your photos are right there with you, ready when you need them. You can organize, perform basic edits and share, straight away once a photo is taken, all with a minimum of fuss. And for just US$50 per year, you get unlimited cloud storage for your images, as well.

 

 

The only catch -- until now, at least -- was that you needed an Eye-Fi card to use the service, but that's no longer the case. Eye-Fi Cloud is now open to one and all on both Android and iOS platforms, and courtesy of a web app for other platforms. And now it's no longer tied to an Eye-Fi card, it looks a whole lot more interesting, even if you only shoot photos with your phone. Think of it as a photocentric Dropbox that doesn't hide your masterpieces in the midst of a morasse of other file types. Of course, if you already have an Eye-Fi card, you're good to go as well -- once you pay that subscription fee, at least.

More details can be found on Eye-Fi's website.