WSJ columnist Walt Mossberg praises Sharpcast photo synchronization service

Wall Street Journal technology columnist Walt Mossberg praises Sharpcast's photo synchronization service (see below) that allows storage and syncrhonization from computers and Windows Mobile 5.0 phones, such as the Palm 700w and the Motorola Q, according to his latest column.

A key advantage is the ease and efficiency of storing and synchronizing photos from multiple devices, he says.   To take advantage of the capabilities, you need to download software to your computer and/or your Windows Mobile phone.   

Then, for example, if you delete photos on your camera phone, the photos are automatically deleted from your account on Sharpcast's Web site and, at the same time, from your computer (assuming the computer's online).

Good performance

Mossberg writes, "Using the Windows software on a PC, and the Web site via my Mac, I easily created 10 albums. I added and deleted photos, rotated them, and created and edited captions on all three devices.  In every case, Sharpcast faithfully and rapidly replicated my changes on the other devices."

Sharpcast also allows you to share albums with other Sharpcast users and receive albums from them.

"Sharpcast is a very cool and compelling service that solves a real problem.  And it promises to get even better," he says.

Wireless options limited

However, the free service is still in beta and there are fewer options when storing photos via a camera phone than from a computer. 

In the future, Sharpcast expects to offer synchronization services for other types of data, such as calendars and address books.

By the way, Sharpcast has a blog and the most recent post is about how everyone at the company was going crazy waiting to see if Mossberg's review would be positive.

[Sent via TypePad wireless e-mail with RIM BlackBerry 8700g]

Comments

[Gibu Thomas]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the mention. Our mobile solution is still in alpha, but you can still see the simplicity of the user experience we are trying to create by trying out the product. Since Walt's review, we have extended support to most Windows Mobile 5.0 devices like the Cingular 2125, Cingular 8125, PPC-6700, etc. It should also work on iPaq and Axim PDAs. The product will continue to get better and we will add more mainstream mobile platforms in the coming months.

We are trying to create a "Blackberry-like" experience for consumer media -- a completely seamless experience between your desktop PC, the web and your mobile, where you have the same view of your data irrelevant whether you are online or offline (changes made offline are synced automatically when you are online again) and what device you are on, and you never have to do the same thing twice.

As a user, you benefit from a one-stop solution that delivers transparent, full-workspace back up (not just files, all the organization, meta-data and settings), powerful sharing and collaboration capabilities, 'push' syncing and automatic anywhere-access, similar to what corporate email users enjoy with their Exchange servers via Outlook, OWA and a Blackberry.

Please check the product out and send us any feedback. We are just scratching the surface of what we have set out to do, which is to create the simplest user experience for managing your data across all your devices and the web, and your feedback will help us get there.

Cheers,

Gibu Thomas,
CEO, Sharpcast