Eye-Fi outs software to help extend life of its old Wi-Fi-connected SD cards

Eye-Fi announced at the start of July that it was ending support for its X2 line of Wi-Fi SD cards so people would upgrade to its Mobi line. But now, the company is offering a barebones solutions for its users who still want to use the older Wi-Fi connected cards. Called Eye-Fi X2 Utility, it’s currently limited to Mac users and has the most basic of features. The software will allow you to transfer images from your PC through Wi-Fi. But that’s it. Also, Eye-Fi won’t be releasing any updates to this software—further emphasizing that they want you to upgrade. The Windows version is said to be in the works but Eye-Fi won’t say if and when they’ll release it.

Source: Eye-Fi | Via: The Verge

Eye-Fi to end support for X1 and X2 Wi-Fi SD cards by September 15th

In case you are still using Eye-Fi’s X1 and X2 Wi-Fi SD cards, now’s the time to look for an alternative. The Wi-Fi-connected SD cards that let old cameras connect to a mobile or desktop app will stop receiving support from Eye-Fi by September 15^th. You won’t be able to use most services and they will no longer update the mobile and desktop apps that work with these cards. One of the reasons for the change is that the older products developed back in 2007 aren’t supposedly as safe and secure as the current wireless technologies. To help ease current customers into a new system, Eye-Fi is offering 20 percent discounts for the Mobi Pro cards they currently sell and support.

Source: The Verge

Eye-Fi Home Wi-Fi SD Card now in Canada

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla We were surprised to come across a bunch of Eye-Fi Home SD cards at the Black's Kiosk in Toronto's Dufferin Mall. The Eye-Fi cards, which are basically Secure Digital Cards that have Wi-Fi connectivity and features. They allow instantaneous downloading to either a PC or a photo sharing website (provided Wi-Fi is available) have been around for a year but have only recently made it to mainstream retailers in the US. More after the break. As with many things tech-related, Canada usually has to wait a few months to a year (i.e. iPhone) to gain local access to these devices. The appearance of the Eye-Fi was a local reseller was a great surprise but the pricing was a bit dissapointing. In the US the 2 GB Eye-Fi sells for US$75, in Black's it goes for $99.00 Canadian plus tax. Home Edition The Eye-Fi Home version offers users the most basic of Eye-Fi features. You can wirelessly upload photos from your camera to your computer via your home wireless network. This is convenient if you don't want to fiddle with USB connectors and adapters. Transfers are fairly quick but would depend greatly on the quality and speed of your connection as well as your file sizes. For a price you can upgrade the functionality of the Eye-Fi Home card and add Geotagging and the Webshare feature. Webshare gives you the ability to automatically upload photos to any of the following the more popular online photo services such as Flickr, SmugMug, Facebook, MobileMe, PhotoBucket, SnapFish, ShutterFly and others. You can also subscribe to a hotspot service which will allow you to upload photos while one the go provided you live in the US and are within area coverage. For photographers, the Eye-Fi offers a number of conveniences and tmakes most digital cameras (that that SD cards) wireless devices. In a home studio setting, the Eye-Fi can transfer photos directly to a Mac or a PC for viewing on a large screen within seconds. Not only is the flie saved in two places (the Wi-Fi card and the computer's hard drive) but you can quickly make adjustments to the photo to compensate for any flaws. The friendly salesperson at Black's said they ahd been carrying the Eye-Fi cards for two weeks but we found it surprising that they weren't prominently displayed in the store nor were they advertised. They are more expensive than standalone SD cards but for photographers that take a lot of photos and need quick transfers, these will quickly pay for themselves. Some newer cameras like Nikon's D60 and D90 DSLRs are even Eye-Fi enabled and they can sense when a card is in their slot. They regulate their power and shut-off settings automatically to enable the Eye-Fi cards to transmit all the files before the power off. Expect your battery life to take a substantial hit. We plan to write a more exhaustive review of the Eye-Fi SD cards once we've had a chance to get a test unit and integrate it into our own shooting workflows.

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