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Provides: Upload pictures wirelessly
Developer: Eye-Fi
Minimum Requirements: SD compatible camera, Wireless Network, USB
Price: $129.99
Availability: Now

Eye-Fi makes a very unique product. It’s a 2GB SD memory card, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t already know it has a wireless chip in it, as well. With it, you can upload your pictures straight from your camera to your computer or to places on the web—like Flickr—without the need for any pesky cables. But you already knew that, all you want to know now is if it works.

How do you know when you’ve just purchased something really cool?  By the box of course.  Apple has always had amazing box design, in my opinion, and Eye-Fi certainly thought a little bit differently with their unique box design.  You pull on one side, and a drawer containing the card is pushed open on the other side.  It’s really cool, and will have you saying, “How’d it do that?” In fact, you’ll be saying the same thing about the card in a few minutes.

To set it up, you just take the card and connect it to your computer with the included card reader.

Wait, what!?  Connect it to my computer?  Yeah, I know, but this might be the first and last time you ever do this, so hold on for a few more seconds.  After you do some installation and configuring, you’re instructed to remove the card and slam it into your camera.  Then, take a picture of yourself.  Here’s a little known secret, you don’t actually have to take a picture of yourself, you can take a picture of anything!  But God will know what you have done, and you’ll have to answer for your sins at some point.

After you’ve taken your picture, you’ll witness how it is that your pictures will be uploaded to your computer.  A little drop down window appears in the top right corner of your computer screen with a thumbnail of the currently uploading picture.  Watch it now and enjoy, because the idea is that you’ll never have to see this.  But you probably will, because you’ll more than likely end up using this while sitting next to your computer anyway.

After the pictures are uploaded, they can be distributed to various places.  You’re computer, obviously, but other places such Flickr, Facebook, SmugMug, Picasa Web, MobileMe etc.  This works great if you’re that type of person who takes perfect pictures every time without need for adjustments, or who likes to have everything uploaded anyway.

Now, Eye-Fi makes numerous cards, and I had the opportunity to test out the Eye-Fi Explore card.  That’s the one that geotags your pictures in addition to uploading them wirelessly away from your home network.  This is great, and it actually works…provided you are within range of a wireless hotspot.  No hotspot = no geotag = no upload. So that’s kind of a bummer.

Sure, wireless hotspots seem to be everywhere, but you can’t connect to them all.  Your home network is pretty much the only one you’ll be able to store a password for.  So you’re kind of restricted to open WiFi networks outside of home base.  Thankfully, while you’re working on your figure at McDonald’s, you’ll be able to upload some pics, too.  The Explore card (or Share with $15 per year) supports all Wayport Hotspots, which account for over 10,000 hotspots across the US.

And then there is uploading.  Maybe I’m impatient, but it’s slow.  You have no way of knowing that the camera is connected to a wireless network, and the pictures take a decent amount of time to transfer.  You can tell Eye-Fi is working hard to fix this problem, but there’s only so much you can do with a memory card.  They give you options, like having an email or text message sent to you every time you start and/or complete an upload.  That’s great, but there’s still no indication if you’re connected to a hotspot or not (for geotagging or uploading).  And who wants to sit around and hope that they aren’t waiting in vain at a spot without open internet?

I really wish there was a better way of knowing that you are connected to a WiFi hotspot than constant emails or text messages.  I honestly have no idea if there is room for a tiny little noise device in there, but a beep every so often is the best idea I can come up with to remedy this situation.

Is it an awesome product that makes you say, “Wow that’s cool!”?  Yes, indeed.  Is it necessary?  Quite obviously not.  Your camera was designed to work with a cable in the first place.  So you have to decide if the cool factor is worth it for you.  Will you actually use this anywhere other than your home?  If so, then get it, because it’s awesome.  If not, then just remember that you’ll eventually have to plug your camera in for power anyway, and what’s another cable?