Kodak EasyShare-one Digital Camera Review

When the Kodak EasyShare-one was announced in January 2005 at the Consumer Electronics Show, it made quite a buzz. The EasyShare-one was touted as the next big thing in digital photography because it is the first consumer Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera. After enjoying CES stardom, the EasyShare-one was slated to hit retail shelves in June. The spring came and went and the EasyShare-one was delayed again and again until October. Finally, this long awaited camera is available for purchase.

The Kodak EasyShare-one has 4 megapixels, a 3x Schneider-Kreuznach 3x optical zoom lens, and a large 3-inch touch screen LCD with 230,000 pixels. The large screen, coupled with 256 MB of internal memory, makes the EasyShare-one a viable hybrid model – fusing digital imager with digital photo album. The built-in album can store up to 1,500 photos in folders or a calendar-type setup. However, the Kodak EasyShare-one’s most impressive innovation is clearly its wireless capabilities, of course. The camera can sync with wireless personal computers, laptops, and printers – including the optional Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock Series 3. The idea is that users can take pictures in their living rooms and send them to their home printers, so prints can be obtained within seconds or minutes of the moment. Users can also e-mail pictures straight from the camera, which Kodak says makes the EasyShare-one a “point and share” camera as well as a “point and shoot.” The original specifications from January’s announcement have been slightly tweaked, but the concept is still the same. The Kodak EasyShare-one comes with a Kodak Wi-Fi card, a two-year warranty, a leather case, a wrist strap, and the regular slew of cables for those who can’t take advantage of the wireless potential; this all goes for a retail price of $599.