Transcend Crashes the Wireless Memory Card Party, Launches Wi-Fi SD Cards

Just a few years ago, Eye-Fi was the only company at the wireless memory card party; now the dance floor’s starting to get a bit crowded. Transcend launched its own line of Wi-Fi SD cards yesterday, joining Eye-Fi, SanDisk, Toshiba, and PQI.

The cards come in two capacities — 16GB and 32GB — and carry a SDHC Class 10 rating for transfer speeds, which is the same 10MB/s speed that Eye-Fi recently upgraded its cards to.

Photographers can use the Transcend Wi-Fi SD card in two modes: Direction Share and Internet. Direct Share mode allows for peer-to-peer connections between the camera and up to three other Wi-Fi devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets). A “Shoot & View” feature lets you instantly review photos as they’re snapped on your device.

Switch to Internet mode, and the SD Card can connect to the Internet through a special mobile app.

The app is called Wi-Fi SD App, and is available for both iOS and Android devices. It collects the photos that are automatically beamed to it and organizes them into neat collections. Users can also browse photos, watch videos, download files, and share content through the internet (on social networks or through email).

Wi-Fi-enabled desktop and laptop computers will also be able to interact with the card through a special browser interface.

The cards should be hitting store shelves very soon, and will cost $69 and $99 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively. By comparison, Eye-Fi’s flagship 16GB Pro X2 card costs $100.

To download the special app, simply visit the Apple App Store, Google Play, or the Amazon Appstore and do a search for “Wi-Fi SD.”