With so much digital photography gear and technology available, it’s rare to discover a product that actually wows! us – a product that brings something so new, simple and clever to the table that we can’t help but take notice.
Vagabondish is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read our disclosure.
Enter Eye-Fi’s Mobile X2 Wireless Memory Card, which promises instant photo uploads from virtually any digital camera to your iPhone, iPad or Android — just by turning your camera on.
To be honest, it all sounded too good to be true. But Eye-Fi was kind enough to temporarily provide us with a review sample to put it through its paces.
The Skinny
First, Eye-Fi’s elevator pitch on what the Mobile X2 promises:
Instant uploads from your camera wherever you are — that’s the power of the Eye-Fi Mobile X2 wireless memory card.
Automatically upload photos and videos to your iPhone, Android or tablet, whether you’re at the beach or on vacation. Never run out of space with Endless Memory Mode. And that’s just the beginning!
- 8GB memory
- Built-in 802.11n wireless capability
- “Anywhere flexibility”: even when not in Wi-Fi range, the card can upload photos to your mobile device (including iPhone, iPad or Android)
- Automatic backup
- SDHC standard compatibility
- Effortless sharing on major social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
- Lightning fast setup
And they’ve crafted this quirky video to simply explain the process:
The Details
The package includes two simple pieces. The first is a standard SDHC memory card that will fit any SDHC-compatible camera (most modern digital cameras have this functionality, but Eye-Fi provides an online tool to ensure that yours does too). Well, standard plus the Wi-Fi functionality.
The second piece is a card reader that plugs into any standard USB port and helps facilitate setup of the card. The setup process takes less than five minutes and includes installation of the necessary software on your PC/Mac. In short, it was a snap. At first glance, it almost seems too easy.
With the standard setup process, your camera is instantly capable of transferring stored photos from the X2 via WiFi to your computer or social media sites of your choice.
But the real win, particularly for frequent travelers, is the ability to turn on “Direct Mode” which allows you to send JPEG photos & videos directly from your camera to virtually any mobile device (including iPhone, iPad or Android devices). This essentially renders the storage capacity of the card moot – simply keep taking photos and the card instantly transfers them to “the cloud”.
After several days (or weeks … or months) of traveling, it’s fantastic to not have to constantly backup or sync your memory card to your laptop. Plus, you can sleep easy knowing that, if something happens to your camera (it’s stolen, goes snorkeling without you, etc.), your photos are safe and sound on Flickr, Facebook, et. al.
Beyond that, the Mobile X2 just … works. Technology that promises this level of convenience and features rarely works as described, if at all. But after two straight weeks with the X2, we had nary a complaint.
The Bottom Line
If you want to take your digital photo storage to the next level, I can’t imagine a better solution than the Mobile X2. At nearly $80, it’s not cheap. But we keep coming back to the concept of “endless memory” and the promise of never seeing the dreaded “Memory Card Full” error again.
Pricing & Availability
Available now for $79.99 directly from Eye-Fi.com.