Eye-Fi Finally Enables Video Uploading

If you were thinking of dropping two hundred bucks on a pocket cam, consider this: Eye-Fi is (finally) enabling video uploading in its wireless SD cards.

Whereas Eye-Fi has 25 partner photo-sharing sites, YouTube is the only video-sharing service on board right now (though clearly the most popular choice). This feature will be available later this year.

What’s most interesting about this announcement is the potential threat it poses to pocket camcorders. Aside from their low price tag and small size, their appeal lies in the fact that they have built-in USB connections and onboard software for quickly uploading videos to YouTube and other sites.

The problem with pocket camcorders, though, is that video quality is limited: optical zoom and optical image stabilization are usually missing. But with Eye-Fi, users could use the card to store and transmit videos shot on their fancier cameras and camcorders, leaving less of a compromise between ease of use and video quality.

Sure, many pocket camcorders have SD slots, so Eye-Fi could work with them, too. But it sure would wipe some of the cuteness off those flip-out USB connectors.