San Diego, CA—Sony launched its new PlayMemories series of post-shooting solutions to enable users to view, edit and share videos and photos on a variety of electronic devices, including LCD TVs, personal computers, tablets and smartphones. Under the concept “Play More. All Your Memories,” the PlayMemories series will provide an experience where personal content can be easily customized and enjoyed across multiple Sony products after it’s captured. PlayMemories consists of four separate solutions: PlayMemories Online; PlayMemories Home; PlayMemories Studio; and PlayMemories Mobile services. PlayMemories Online (Available spring 2012, free) This cloud-based service lets consumers upload photos and videos captured with digital cameras or...

Melville, NY—Nikon upgraded its my Picturetown mypicturetown.com image sharing and storage service with new and better functions and features, including simpler playback of movie files and support for the playback of motion snapshot files recorded with the new Nikon 1 advanced interchangeable-lens cameras. In addition, GPS map view has been expanded and improved to display log data recorded using the GPS function built into Nikon’s recently announced Coolpix AW100 on a map, allowing users to view and share a record of their movement over a specific period of time. See all of the new...

Secaucus, NJ—Panasonic’s new 12.1 megapixel Lumix DMC-FX90 compact digital camera adds Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/n) to a feature set that boasts a 24mm ultra-wide Leica DC Vario-Summarit lens with f/2.5 brightness. The FX90 has a dedicated Wi-Fi button that directly opens a Wi-Fi connection mode outside the home and gets WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) connection at home. The Wi-Fi module is located on the opposite side of the grip so as not to interfere with the connection signal. With this ability, the FX90 addresses the community of people who want to share their photos and videos instantly via online social...

Palo Alto, CA—HP and LicenseStream, a licensing and royalty payment automation platform for all media, launched Snapfish Stock Images—an online image collection and microstock photo licensing service featuring photos from the enthusiast and professional photographers of Snapfish. Additionally, the Snapfish Stock Images site will offer “reliable and affordable” creative stock photography and stock illustrations, in collaboration with LicenseStream and Veer, a provider of visual elements, the companies announced. With a vast pool of passionate contributors, Snapfish Stock Images will also make available imagery for professional image buyers as well as royalty-free microstock for immediate download. “As a result of our partnering with LicenseStream,...

Puchheim, Germany—Boinx Software announced the availability of PhotoPresenter 4.1 at the Mac App Store. This template-based photo viewer is designed to enable anyone working with digital images to create slideshows—from kids to professionals. Riding along the current of social media trends, PhotoPresenter 4.1 now integrates with Facebook for access to photo albums, as well as Facebook friends’ shared albums. Facebook albums instantly appear in the PhotoPresenter interface for access and compilation of photo slideshows. Once slideshows are complete, a new export to iPad feature enables users to share their finished work with friends and family on that sleek presentation platform....

Center Valley, PA—Olympus Memory Works America released [ib suite], a new end-to-end photo and video solution that is designed to reduce the barriers to enjoying digital photography. Consisting of ibonthenet.com and [ib] PC software, [ib suite] creates a seamless experience, moving photos and videos from the camera to the PC, then storing, organizing, editing, printing and sharing them online. The newest version of [ib] software is available for free download at ibonthenet.com. “In just a few clicks, users can download and organize their Thanksgiving, wedding or vacation photos and share them with the entire family,” said Michael Timar, director of Business...

Melville, NY—Nikon launched a new version of its image-sharing and storage service, my Picturetown (mypicturetown.com), with improved sharing and creativity tools. The site features design, navigation and functionality improvements to enhance the user’s overall photo and video experience—including the new PhotoMovie function. PhotoMovie allows my Picturetown members to create a slideshow of photos that can be combined with text, music and special effects—and shared through e-mail or social networks. The tool is an alternative to posting single pictures, enabling members to tell their story and share memorable moments through multiple photos, captions and royalty-free music available on the site. Other site improvements...

Center Valley, PA—Olympus Memory Works America launched ibonthenet.com [ib on the net], a new online photo service that fully integrates and streamlines the process of shooting, storing, organizing, sharing and printing photos. Initially [ib on the net] offers users 2GB (gigabytes) of free space to share photos at full resolution with family and friends, and the ability to shop for digital photo albums, photo prints and other photo gifts. The service also provides online photo backup to ensure that photos will be safe from mishap or disaster. Olympus will continue to enhance the service to more tightly integrate end-user benefits...

Rochester, NY—Kodak’s latest digital camera, digital photo frame and pocket video camera are designed to make it easy for consumers to share and relive life’s moments via social networking sites. EasyShare M590 Digital Camera. This super-thin 5x optical zoom model is billed as the “ultimate social networking accessory for people who love to share their pictures.” Using the camera’s share button, consumers can tag pictures and videos directly on-camera for uploading to social networking sites, including Facebook, Kodak Gallery, Flickr and YouTube. Pictures can also be tagged for e-mail and to send to any Kodak Pulse digital frame. Key features...

The nice thing about new services is that they bend over backwards to lure new customers. Take SnapHaven, a new online photo backup service. As part of their inaugural effort to lure new customers, they're offering unlimited photo scanning for photo prints up to 8 x 10-inches in size to anyone who signs up for a membership (prices start at $49.99 a year). You just pay shipping and handling. The SnapHaven service offers unlimited photo uploads into password-protected galleries as well as a "lifetime guarantee" that your photos will be "accessible and downloadable for 99 years." Whether that claim holds true...