Kodak and Nikon duel with Wi-Fi cameras

Westlake Village (CA) - Not content with ever-increasing mega-pixels, Kodak and Nikon are giving consumers something else to look forward to - wireless picture transfer capability. This month, Nikon will be releasing its Coolpix P1 and P2 cameras, while the Kodak EasyShare One will be available in October. All three cameras offer at least 4 mega-pixels of resolution in addition to wirelessly beaming pictures to computers, printers and the Internet.

Nikon will be the first out of the gate and the optical specifications look promising. The Coolpix P1 will have 8.0 megapixels of resolution with a 4X optical zoom. The Coolpix P2 will also come with a 4X zoom, but with less megapixels (5.0). Both cameras can record 30 frames per second movies at 640 X 480 pixel resolution.

Kodak’s EasyShare One will ship next month and will have a 3X optical zoom and take pictures at 4 megapixels. While all three cameras offer wireless transfer, the feature is enabled differently between the announced snapshot cameras.

All the cameras offer wireless transfer direct to a printer, but an extra wireless adapter must be purchased. For transferring to a computer, the Nikon cameras beam pictures directly into the "PictureProject" software. This means users are either tied to their desktop PC, bring their notebooks along or install the software on a friend’s computer to be able to get their shots off the camera in a wireless fashion.

Kodak has partnered up with Hotspot providers like T-Mobile to offer direct-to-the-Internet transfers. Users can completely ditch the computer and drop by any Starbucks. Pictures can be sent directly to an Internet picture gallery from participating hotspots or wireless networks.

The Nikon Coolpix P1 and P2 will be available for $550 and $400 respectively, while the Kodak EasyShare One will sell for $600.