ShoZu does what MMS promised

THE PICTURE equivalent of text messaging is MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). It's been something of a damp sqib.

So Cognima has created a system called ShoZu which it has made easy as pie to use. And, rather than recreate the wheel, it has linked into three popular Web logging sites.

The list includes Flikr, Textamerica and Webshots. So all you need do is install the software and link it to a mailbox on one of those three services.

Then, whenever you take a photo with a cameraphone, you can choose whether or not to upload it directly to the Web. If you choose Yes, it will be uploaded in the background via GPRS or 3G.

Mark Bole, Cognima's CEO, reckons that with the data compression techniques associated with ShoZu, it's even cheaper than sending an ordinary MMS message.

Given the outrageous cost of data roaming while travelling abroad (see The INQ passim), ShoZu is programmed to prompt the user if he or she wants to upload photos while abroad.

Bole reckons ShoZu's popularity has grown sufficiently to encourage both handset vendors and network operators to licence the client. It remains free to the public.

However, future versions for business use - such as uploading photos to a corporate file server - could attract fees. µ

L'INQ
Shozu