MaximumPC 2008 12

W

hen we reviewed Eye-Fi’s original

wireless SD card (March 2008),

our verdict was that this device,

which lets you automatically upload images

to the Internet via Wi-Fi, was a cool gee-

whiz item hurt by a number of flaws. This

update fixes those weaknesses and turns

this wireless card into a must-have item for

photo-sharing.

The original card worked with only

secured access points that you had to pro-

gram in manually. With the Explore, if you

take a photo at the park and then walk into

the range of one of the 10,000 supported

hot spots (you get one year of free access;

subsequent years cost $20), the camera will

automatically start uploading your pics to

the photo-sharing website of your choice.

Even better, walk near an unsecured access

point and the Explore will climb aboard and

upload your photos from there.

You can either access just your secured

access points or turn on open hotspot sup-

port, but there’s no way to limit which open

access points the card will seek out—and

using an open access point without permis-

sion is against the law in some states. The

card’s geotagging feature isn’t perfect either.

The tags are not based on GPS coordinates;

rather, they’re based on a survey of Wi-Fi

networks by Skyhood Wireless. The compa-

ny claims to have millions of access points

mapped, but that won’t help you if you’re

standing on top of Half Dome at Yosemite.

Even with these problems, the Eye-Fi

Explore is damned cool. For users of the

original card, a firmware update adds the

geotagging and hotspot support, so there’s

no reason to upgrade.

Now if Eye-Fi could increase the storage

capacity beyond 2GB and make a Compact

Flash version we’d be even happier.

• G O R D O N M A H U N G

IN THE LAB^

REVIEWS OF THE LATEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

The Explore

fi nally lets you

use unsecured

access points

to upload your

photos—and it

includes geo-

tags to boot.

Eye-Fi Explore

Untether your camera from your PC

VERDICT

$130, http://www.eye.fi

9

Open access-point

support makes the

Explore a kick-ass,

must-have card.

Reliance on Wi-Fi

makes geotagging

unreliable.

JAMES ROCKFORD

EYE-FI EXPLORE

LANCE WHITE