Eye-Fi Developing YouTube Uploading

By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 1/19/2009

LAS VEGAS — Wireless SD card maker Eye-Fi said it was developing technology for wirelessly uploading videos from cameras and camcorders to YouTube.

While the original Eye-Fi card can upload stills to PCs and the Internet, it could not handle video. The new card will send video captured by digital cameras and camcorders to the PC and YouTube. Though it will support full-resolution HD video, the card will be targeted at digital still camera owners who record video, said CEO Jef Holove.

The company would not say whether the YouTube uploading would be available in a new card or as a firmware upgrade to the original card.

At Macworld, Eye-Fi announced it was readying an application that will let iPhone users wirelessly send images to their computers and the Web.

According to Holove, the new application will be free to existing Eye-Fi card owners but won't be available to non-owners, at least initially. Using either the cellular or Wi-Fi capability of the iPhone, the Eye-Fi application can automatically upload images to one of 25 partner sites and to a user's computer.

The application, which is compatible with both the original and 3G iPhone, also integrates with the iPhone's geo-tagging capabilities, allowing users to embed and upload location coordinates with their photos, which can then be mapped on sites such as Flickr and Smugmug.