TechFold - Bold tech & web commentary

PixDrop - send photos from desk to cell

PixDrop is a simple service, elegantly executed. All it does is send a photo to a phone number. Entering your email address is optional. The service takes about 3 seconds to use, and takes place on the site’s only page without reloading.

Unfortunately, PixDrop to date works only with the US major carriers (Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and AT&T), so I’m SOL up here in the Great Hot & Humid North (Telus is my carrier). Can anyone out there tell me how it handles re-sizing? I’m hoping that PixDrop automatically re-sizes photos for mobile presentation and byte-savings. What about watermarking?

The other question that I love to ask is usage scenarios. Generally, I’m trying to get pictures from my cam-phone to my desktop - not the other way around. That being said, I can see fun and practical applications: the usual sending of silly pictures, or sending my phone a picture of a particular car I’ll shopping for later. But - most of these scenarios are very niche-y - I’m not sure about PixDrop’s long-term growth prognosis.

Suggestions

1. Widgetize it for the MySpace Crowd. Want a quick usage growth vector? Build a MySpace widget that lets people “drop” photos the the mobiles of people viewing their profiles. To me, this service speaks to MySpace-y tweens - so give them a viral tool to use & promote it.
2. Widgetize it for Professional Markets. Insurance adjusters, real estate agents, people home shopping - all targets for this technology that could provide longer-term growth. Create a real-estate tool, for instance, that watermarks house photos from an online listing with address and price and sends them to a shoppers phone. Or a similar tool for property assessors, or any of a million and one mobile professions that are time & margin based and looking for ways to squeeze margins. Good opportunity here for “pro” paid accounts as well.

Summary

PixDrop is a useful feature with IMHO a monetizeable technology that could be re-packaged for a number of different markets and business plans. I’m looking forward to the addition of Canadian carriers to their serivce.

mobile, photos, pixdrop sharing

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