Eye-FI: Mobile Innovation Award Winner 2007

No one really complains that photo sites like Flickr or Kodak Gallery are tough to use. So why do so few of us bother to share our memories online? Because we don't want to dig out the USB cable, figure out which images we want to keep or toss, and remember what passwords we've created for which sites, to name just a few reasons. In other words? We're just really lazy. Say hello to Eye-Fi, a $99 Secure Digital Memory Card with a built-in Wi-Fi transmitter. This awesome accessory automatically uploads your digicam's images to one of 17 sharing, printing, social networking, or blogging sites.

There's absolutely nothing that you have to do on your camera. Once you enter your home network's information using the software preloaded on the card and select the site (or sites) you want to use, Eye-Fi takes over. The company handles the handoff between its own online portal and services ranging from Flickr and Kodak Gallery to Facebook, Shutterfly, and Snapfish. You can also choose to have Eye-Fi transfer every picture you take to your PC (either simultaneously or exclusively), so long as your computer is turned on.

We were amazed with how simple the setup process was, and it took only a few seconds for each of our Casio Exilim's 7-megapixel images to upload to Flickr over our home network. Going out to a party or to a soccer game? Snap as many pictures as you want (this 2GB card holds about 1,000 images), and you can upload all of your fresh photos in a batch when you get back home by simply turning your digicam on.

You can't upload photos at hotspots outside your home network, and owners of digicams with an xD card slot or a CompactFlash Card slot are out of luck. But overall Eye-Fi is like wireless magic.