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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
OurPictures Partners With Cognima to Bring Effortless Single Click Photo Sharing to Mobile Phones
OurPictures, the first consumer digital photo network designed for easy photo sharing, announced today at DEMOmobile 2004 a multi-year partnership with Cognima, the UK based effortless mobile services company, to create OurPictures Mobile(tm), an all-new photo sharing solution targeting camera phone consumers.
OurPictures Mobile integrates the wireless interface from Cognima Snap(tm) and the photo sharing network from OurPictures to produce a seamless single click photo sharing experience from the mobile phone to the PC desktop and beyond. Once a picture is snapped with a camera phone, a single click will transfer the image to friends and family, as well as the sender's PC desktop, without losing any of the photo quality. Members can also configure the service to automatically upload new images to OurPictures without any clicks at all.
"Cognima's photo upload system is the key to making OurPictures Mobile as easy to use as a point and shoot camera and is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Cognima Snap service," said John Paul, CEO of OurPictures. "Together, we tackled the problem of getting photos from camera phones to a PC -- and ultimately other devices -- and distilled it down to just a single click," he added.
"OurPictures delivers an elegant solution based on a common vision: the more automatic we make the process of sharing photos for the consumer, the more likely that this service will reach critical mass," said CEO of Cognima, Simon East. "We think our collaboration will have incredible implications for the role of photography in people's lives and the volume of pictures shared, since mobile phones are something you always have with you and OurPictures Mobile is so easy to use."
Camera phones are becoming ubiquitous, with some models available to U.S. consumers for as little as $35 with mobile plans. With one megapixel phones entering the US market - and two and three megapixel phones prevalent in Asia - high-quality camera phone images are now available. Within two years, photos from mobile handset cameras will become the mainstream source of new photos of vacations, friends and family. According to InfoTrends, worldwide camera phones sales will hit 150 million in 2004 resulting in an additional 29 billion digital images captured. By 2008 sales growth is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 55% and will reach 656 million units.
As the first industry-wide solution to enable automatic uploads of photos and video clips from a camera phone to a PC in just one click, OurPictures Mobile(tm) will be available commercially in October 2004 throughout North America and the UK on supported phones for $1.99 per month.
About Cognima
Cognima was established in 2001by Symbian's former VP of technology, Simon East. A privately held company based in London, Cognima develops effortless mobile services. Cognima believes that in order to create uptake of mobile data services they must be effortless to use and meet real user needs. Cognima has developed a set of innovative new services that meet these user requirements and therefore allow Network Operators, Handset Manufacturers and Service Providers to derive new revenue from their customers. Cognima's patented data replication technology makes the operation of these services totally invisible to the user. Cognima's website is www.cognima.com.
About Cognima Snap(tm)
Cognima SnapTM automatically uploads photos (and video clips) from a camera phone to a Service Provider's online photo album. The distinguishing characteristic of the Cognima service is ease-of-use - photos are automatically uploaded without the subscriber needing to send messages or use menus on the phone. Results from a trial with a major UK Network Operator show that, compared to users with standard MMS phones, Cognima Snap users uploaded 14 times the number of photos to an online photo album.
About OurPictures(tm)
OurPictures makes digital photography simple enough for everyone, and is the first service that enables consumers to organize, edit, share, and print in one easy-to-use program without the hassle of complex technology. By eliminating the traditional barriers of long upload times and cumbersome email attachments, OurPictures is the new choice for consumers to fully enjoy their digital pictures. Based in Palo Alto, California, OurPictures is privately held and funded by top tier investors, including Sutter Hill Ventures. Visit www.ourpictures.com.
OurPictures Mobile(tm)
OurPictures Mobile(tm) is a new service that enables consumers to share photos with a single click between mobile phones, computers, TVs, and other connected devices. What OurPictures did for PC-based photo sharing and printing is being applied to the fastest growing source of digital photos and video: Camera phones. Prior to OurPictures Mobile, the user interface on camera phones was confusing, time consuming, and inconvenient. OurPictures is applying its hallmark ease-of-use consumer interface design to make sharing and printing photos from a mobile phone effortless. The commercial launch will include support for the major open mobile phone platforms including Symbian and Microsoft. Support for Palm and other platforms is planned for the near future.
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