PIR September 2012 Editorial: Wireless Warfare

PIR September 2012 Editorial: Wireless Warfare

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The next frontier has arrived.

Over the past few weeks, a number of new cameras that offer wireless connectivity have been announced. Samsung, Nikon, Sony,  and Panasonic all seem to have joined the fray, with different iterations, to help combat the “compact defection” to smartphones. More are certainly on the way.

To date, the battle between cameras and smartphones has been a function of quality vs. connectivity. It has always been easier and more convenient to share images on social networks using cell phones, and we’ve seen an explosion of images appearing on and across the Internet. However, the quality of those images, while sufficient for web browsing, is certainly suspect for quality memories.

Cameras, on the other hand, delivered on quality, but connectivity was always a struggle. Early attempts at wireless cameras fell short because they were just too confusing to connect. Now, cameras both connecting directly to hotspots (Samsung) or through mobile devices are beginning to make connectivity and sharing less of a struggle. And the images are clearly superior to those from current phones.

Is it still more convenient for your customers to carry around their phones to snap images? Yes, if they don’t really care about quality, or the long-term life of the image. But if it’s more important to record a lifelong memory suitable for sharing and printing, then the inconvenience of carrying an extra device may be worth it.

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