Being smart about photo sharing

Samsung cameras go social

With more than 5.5 million active Facebook users in South Africa accounting for almost 90% of the online population, social networking is here to stay. And with that, comes the need to share content with each another using a myriad of mobile devices. This has seen Samsung Electronics South Africa recently introduce the concept of ‘Smart Camera 2.0’ that lets users upload their favourite photographs and videos directly to a number of social networks via built-in Wi-Fi directly from their cameras.

“While people have been taking photographs and sharing them online via their smartphones for a while, the dedicated features of a digital camera provide functionality not normally available on mobile phones. However, camera users have often been left frustrated having to wait until they get back home before they can start sharing their memories to their social networks of choice,” says Matthew Thackrah, Deputy MD and Director if IT Solutions and Consumer Electronics at Samsung South Africa.

Smart Camera 2.0 enables direct uploading to Facebook, Picasa, YouTube, Photobucket, and SkyDrive at the click of a button, once the user is in range of a wireless hotspot. Additionally, it also lets users share photos and videos to their email contacts directly from the camera.

“With this growing use of social networks like Facebook, South Africans are sharing more content between themselves than ever before. This content ranges from the usual text updates to photographs and video clips from special occasions like birthdays, family get-togethers, and the like. With Smart Camera 2.0, we want to make it even easier for people to share high-quality content with their family and friends online – through not only lower end devices but across our product range,” says Thackrah.

Once a camera that boasts Smart functionality is in range of a wireless network, the user simply chooses the Social Sharing icon and selects the social networking service to be used. A prompt will appear for the user ID and password for the site and as soon as the person is logged in, he or she will be able to browse through the files on the camera and select the ones to be uploaded.

“Social sharing is taken to the next level with the Smart Camera 2.0. Now, users are not limited to sharing their photos from a smartphone but can actually use a professional photographic device that provides far better pictures. Samsung is passionate about providing our users with the tools to live the digital life and Samsung’s Smart Camera 2.0 functionality builds on that experience,” concludes Thackrah.