Gadgets: Canon discovered the Internet – Business Week

The camera giant Canon launches its first online portal for photographers. The offer Irista is far neither lush nor innovative, but strategically long overdue.

It was almost two years ago at Photokina in Cologne, as me Rokus van Iperen, Canon’s then newly appointee European boss, for an inconspicuous Info column on its stand led. Slightly off the flood shiny camera innovations in the glaring spotlight, he showed me on two screens the prototype of an online photo portal, which wanted to open after the show for a small group of beta testers, the Canon developers. The “Project 1709″ said platform, so unimpressive it looked like to me was a major exhibition of Canon’s innovations.

The first of the large Photo namely corporations recognized the camera giant that competition will no longer be interested in the picture (alone) is decided with camera features, megapixel sensors, continuous shooting speeds or the remuneration of lenses. At least the more innovative among Canon’s managers knew that the future competitors in the world of photography much less Nikon, Sony or Olympus hot. Rather, they are Flickr, Picasa or Pinterest – and the value-added services developed by them in the network

But then it was quiet again for Project 1709 To date,

<... p class = "MsoNormal"> After almost three months before the next Photokina Canon’s digital photo storage is now a live product into the net. Under the official name “Irista”, the camera giant photo friends now available something like the smart collection box for digital images on the Internet.

There they can on the one hand their recordings on the PC upload or import from other portals on the net. On the other hand, they could categorize the images there based on key words, date, camera or lens type, or put together referred to “Memento” albums. It does not matter how the images are created, whether shot with a Canon or a different camera or a snapshot of the smartphone.

To start the online import works from Facebook and Flickr, the integration of other platforms such as Google’s Picasa may follow soon. Up to ten gigabytes of online storage, there are free, 50 gigabytes will cost 4.99 euros per month, 100 gigabytes 10.99 euros.

Incumbents go with all his strength against the new competition before the Internet. Outdated paragraphs help them. Though

This is neither lush nor truly innovative. Images memory there’s quite a few on the net. Google’s Picasa Web Albums offer about 15 gigabytes of free storage. And the Yahoo subsidiary Flickr offers its users even an entire terabyte of network storage available. And unlike Canon’s Irista both provide their users also have the option of electronically aufzuhübschen the images to correct exposure problems or to select the picture again. So Irista is downright spartan therefore -. Overpriced and

Nevertheless, this – beyond marketing and support offerings – first step absolutely right into the net. And he was overdue. For as in almost all industries digitization changed the business radically in the photo world. Not only that long more photos with smartphones are shot. Share pictures, they spread through social networks, to make or to manage, which is the ultimate photo trend in the second half of this decade.