ShoZu Inc. today announced that its Share-It one-click image
uploading service now offers location tagging for photos and video
clips sent from GPS-enabled phones to Flickr and YouTube as well as
Buzznet, Dada.net, moblogUK, Pikeo and Textamerica. ShoZu is the only
upload service that provides automatic geotagging for cameraphone
uploads to more than one Internet destination. It also supports more
GPS handsets than any other provider.
With the new geotagging feature, GPS-enabled handsets equipped
with the ShoZu application can attach latitude and longitude
information to images automatically upon capture. ShoZu will then send
this information to any Share-It destination that supports tagging,
along with all other tags the user has created manually. In the case
of Flickr, uploaded images will also be displayed automatically in
their precise location on the user's Flickr map.
For users, geotags make it possible to search community photo
repositories by geographical location just as they would search by any
other tag, whether to explore a vacation destination, find photos of a
certain city or area that contributors have failed to tag with
location information, or simply hunt for users with common interests.
Non-Flickr users who want mapping capabilities can pinpoint the exact
location of geotagged photos of interest by pasting the geotags into
an application like Google Earth.
For web communities, ShoZu's geotagging capability offers a site
enhancement that can draw new users as well as opening the door to new
services. A photo sharing site, for example, could load all images
submitted from a concert tour on a map so that users can follow the
band from city to city. A citizen journalism site could use the
feature to instantly identify the location of a photo of a breaking
news event in order to quickly dispatch a reporter to the scene. And
so on.
In addition, handset manufacturers can benefit from ShoZu's new
location tagging by providing a location-based service that leverages
their investment in GPS technology, and advertisers using ShoZu's
mobile advertising platform will be able to use the function to target
messages by user location once ShoZu has implemented necessary privacy
protections.
"GPS is becoming a standard feature on handsets, primarily because
of mobile subscribers who want navigation systems built into their
phones. That is paving the way for new location-based services like
geotagging," said ShoZu CEO Mark Bole. "Our broad web community and
handset support will lead the way in this area, equip our partners
with a strong LBS application, and add rich new value to
user-generated content for the massive number of consumers who have
turned social networking into the hottest technology trend today."
ShoZu's Share-It service enables users to upload photos and video
clips captured on their camera phones with fewer clicks, at higher
resolution and to more web destinations than any other method. Users
also have the unique ability to add titles or tags after uploading,
exchange comments between web and phone, and upload any image to
multiple destinations for a single data fee in cases where carrier
charges apply. Uploads automatically resume from the point of failure
in the event a dropped connection, eliminating user frustration.
The new location tag capability applies to all ShoZu web
destinations that support tagging. ShoZu also enables users to upload
images to sites without tagging including photo sharing communities
Kodak EasyShare Gallery, MSN's Windows Live Spaces and Webshots;
personal blogging sites Blogger, TypePad and WordPress;
citizen-contributed photojournalism sites CNN, the BBC and Scoopt; and
any FTP or email address. ShoZu continues to add new sites on a
regular basis.
Geotagging is currently available for several new GPS-enabled
Symbian S60v3 and Windows Mobile phones. ShoZu currently supports a
total of 136 handsets, including Symbian, Java, Microsoft Windows
Mobile and BREW devices. The list includes select WiFi-enabled mobile
phones such as the Nokia N80 in Europe and the Dash in the
U.S.,enabling multimedia files to be routed over users' home, office
or WiFi connection (or AirPort connection for Mac users) rather than
the cellular network to reduce data transport costs.
About ShoZu
ShoZu is a mobile media service that enables consumer and media
companies to interact with customers on their mobile phones through
fast, easy exchange of multimedia content and web-based services. The
company's patented technology allows consumers to download and upload
photos, videos, music, text and other digital content to and from the
handset without the need to open a mobile browser, wait for pages to
load, interrupt phone calls, start over in the event of a dropped
connection, or sync to a PC. Services include innovative ZuCasts that
deliver content to the handset automatically, one-click uploading of
camera phone images and video clips to community websites and other
destinations, and two-way mobile-to-web messaging and interactivity.
For more information, visit www.shozu.com/aboutus.