LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic, the leading brand by which
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) is best known, today
highlighted the development of a LUMIX digital camera with wireless network
connectivity, complete with integrated access to T-Mobile(R) HotSpot
service and the ability to send photos directly to Picasa Web Albums(TM), a
free online photo-sharing service from Google. Panasonic collaborated with
T- Mobile Hotspot and used Picasa Web Albums' APIs to develop a new and
optimal online environment for photo sharing.
After taking digital photos with the new LUMIX, users will be able to
upload their photos directly to Picasa Web Albums through the T-Mobile
HotSpot service. The LUMIX comes with complimentary access to T-Mobile
HotSpot service for 12 months.* After uploading, they can receive an email
with a URL link to their photos, which they can then share with family and
friends. In addition, users can confirm photos have been successfully
loaded to Picasa Web Albums and can delete photos directly from the digital
camera, eliminating the concern that photos have or have not been uploaded.
Panasonic has collaborated closely with T-Mobile to enable quick and
easy digital photo uploading. T-Mobile HotSpot service provides fast and
reliable Wi-Fi Internet access at more than 8,500 public T-Mobile HotSpot
locations throughout the country. As the largest carrier-grade, commercial
Wi-Fi network in the United States, T-Mobile HotSpot service is available
at many Starbucks coffee shops, Borders(R) Books & Music stores, Hyatt
Hotels and approximately 70 major airports across the United States.
"T-Mobile HotSpot service continues to innovate and build new bridges
that help people stick together," said Joe Sims, vice president and general
manager for Broadband Services, T-Mobile USA. "Through T-Mobile HotSpot,
empowering people to share special moments-in-time captured by the LUMIX
digital camera is yet another way we're helping people stay connected to
those who matter most."
"The new LUMIX will be the perfect digital camera for consumers who are
accustomed to the benefits that wireless connections offer: speed and
convenience," said Tokikazu Matsumoto, director of Panasonic AVC Networks
Company's Digital Camera Business Unit. "Ideal for the active user who is
always on-the-go, the new LUMIX with wireless network connectivity, has the
ability to upload directly to Picasa Web Albums, making sharing photos with
friends and family, as simple as a touch of a button and as seamless as
connecting to a wireless network."
"We want our users to be able to access and share their photo
collections however and wherever they'd like," said Mike Horowitz, product
manager for Picasa Web Albums at Google. "We created open APIs to encourage
exactly this kind of integration. The new LUMIX camera from Panasonic gives
our users a great new way to share photos quickly and easily while they're
taking shots on vacation or at a convention."
"Our collaboration with T-Mobile Hotspot and our work with Picasa Web
Albums open programming interface pushes the boundaries of digital
photography, said Merwan Mereby, vice president, New Business Development
and Strategic Alliances, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "We are in
a new paradigm of taking digital photographs, where people want to share
their memories easily, while also embracing the immediacy that online
communities demand. With the direct upload capability onto Picasa Web
Albums through any T-Mobile Hotspot location anywhere in the United States,
the wireless LUMIX digital camera makes sharing photographs an easy and
seamless experience."
About Panasonic
Based in Osaka, Japan, Panasonic AVC Networks Company is an internal
division company of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC),
which is best know worldwide by its Panasonic brand name. Panasonic
Corporation of North America is based in Secaucus, N.J., and is the
principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric and the hub of
Panasonic's U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Information
about Panasonic products is available at http://www.panasonic.com. Additional
company information for journalists is available at
http://www.panasonic.com/pressroom.
About T-Mobile USA
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc., is a member of the
T-Mobile International group, one of the world's leading companies in
mobile communications, and the mobile telecommunications subsidiary of
Deutsche Telekom AG. By the end of the third quarter of 2007, approximately
114 million mobile customers were served by the mobile segment of the
Deutsche Telekom group -- nearly 28 million by T-Mobile USA -- all via a
common technology platform based on GSM, the world's most widely used
digital wireless standard. T-Mobile's innovative wireless products and
services help empower people to connect effortlessly to those who matter
most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile
highest, in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care.
For more information, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com. To find more
information about T-Mobile HotSpot service and locations, visit
http://hotspot.t-mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark
of Deutsche Telekom AG.
About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people
around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford
Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web
property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program
provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing
the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon
Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more
information, please visit http://www.google.com.
Google, Picasa and Picasa Web Albums are trademarks of Google Inc. in
the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.
* One year of complimentary, camera-specific T-Mobile HotSpot service
begins from the first time you automatically connect your LUMIX digital
camera to the T-Mobile network at a T-Mobile HotSpot location within the
U.S., subject to certain limitations, terms and conditions. T-Mobile
HotSpot service does not include access to the Internet at any Wi-Fi
roaming locations.
SOURCE Panasonic
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Related links:
http://www.panasonic.com/pressroom
http://www.t-mobile.com http://hotspot.t-mobile.com
CONTACT:
MeeJin Annan-Brady, +1-201-392-6124,
annan-bradym@us.panasonic.com, or Chris De Maria,
+1-201-348-7182, demariac@us.panasonic.com, both of Panasonic; or
Charles Leone of Peppercom for Panasonic, +1-212-931-6158,
cleone@peppercom.com
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